First Opportunity
Fresh with a degree in hand, I was excited to hit the job market and discover what the world had to offer- and what I could give back in return. The first job I landed was at a floor mat manufacturing company. Yes, floor mats. It was a new experience and I was filled with anticipation and suspense- it was my first real job. The commute was longer than expected, nestled far outside the Atlanta area. However I knew the job market could be tough, and sometimes you have to start where the door opens and move forward from there. I was raised to seize every opportunity to move forward.
I remember one moment back in college, during a friendly poker game, when someone told me I was making a huge mistake going into Computer Science. He cited a friend of his who had graduated from Notre Dame and struggled for months to find work. I didn't let that shake me. I figured, worst-case, I'd relocate or grind through interviews until an opportunity stuck.
Although I had no professional experience, I saw this opportunity as a foot in the door. And I've always enjoyed a good challenge. I've always had a knack for breaking down problems and simplifying complex systems. It sounds simple, but when you can untangle a mess into something more understandable, you're halfway to solving it.
On the Job
As a proud Software Developer, my main responsibility was maintaining the company's websites. This was back in 2011, when tech was excelling but not the powerhouse it is today. I remember the pride I felt when they handed me my work laptop-it had better specs than my personal one, and I felt like I had just leveled up in life. +XP. We worked in C# .NET with MVC Razor pages, using SQL Server for the data storage and application support. I laugh now, but at the time, working in the solution felt as if you were trying to troubleshoot how to climb Mount Everest.
The biggest challenge? Proving I belonged. The team was small-just two devs, a hardware specialist, a network person, and someone who supported the internal platform. Everyone was helpful and friendly, including my boss, who was down to earth and fairly hands-off. We had occasional check-ins but for the most part, I had room to find my own rhythm.
A few months in, a new dev role opened up. I recommended a college friend-same degree, fellow gamer. He aced the interview and joined us. It was great working with someone I knew. He made the workplace feel lighter and more fun. I thought, what a win-win situation for my first job.
Later, the company hired a front-end developer. My role leaned heavily on the backend- I managed services, APIs, and data flows- but had barely touched the front-end beyond tweaking form fields. The new developer fit right in. We collaborated well, and during one big demo meeting with the executives, he demonstrated some of his UI changes. There were animations, transitions, validations, the kitchen sink of 'wow effects'. The board was impressed. I remember thinking, of course, the flashy updates were layered on top of the backend logic and data handling that made everything actually work. People love the shiny exterior. Not everyone wants to talk about the engine under the hood. This was a humbling life lesson—learning to appreciate the work I’d done without needing applause. But the real takeaway? Success often lies in finding that balance between owning your efforts and not needing center stage.
Did it Work?
One of my proudest and most humbling moments was implementing a new backend messaging system using Rhino Service Bus to handle customer requests flowing from the websites into our backend. I built the solution fairly quickly and, after a few successful tests, got the green light to deploy to production. My first major live implementation- I was thrilled.
Until it broke.
A couple days in, the process began halting in the middle of the night. I'll never forget the early morning phone calls from our European office. Fun times. I'd log in around 2AM, restart the service, and roll back over to sleep. This happened for several nights. It never escalated to a top priority, so we settled on a temporary fix to auto restart the service if it failed. A band-aid, definitely- but it gave us time. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to circle back and solve the root cause. One of those early lessons in balancing quick wins with long-term stability. Looking back, I wish I had pushed more for time to properly address the issue.
Path forward
After about six months, I was informed the company would be outsourcing my role. I wasn't too shaken- I had already started job hunting. The commute had worn on me, and I was feeling homesick for Atlanta. Plus, I was curious to explore what else was out there. The front-end dev role was also outsourced, though my friend stayed. He had the opportunity to work in some proprietary internal systems, so he had more favor. I was a bit disappointed, but honestly, I was happy for him. He was further along in building his family, so stability mattered more to him than it did for me at the time.
All in all, my time at the floor mat company was invaluable. I gained hands-on experience, navigated real-world challenges, and learned a ton about teamwork, systems, and the importance of adaptability. I wouldn't trade those life and career lessons for anything.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for Part 2.