Joining TCS as a Systems Engineer in December 2023 was equal parts exciting and terrifying. I had four years of college projects and one internship behind me. What I found on the other side was a codebase with more lines than I'd read in my entire academic career, and teammates who'd been writing production code longer than I'd been seriously coding.
1. Reading Code Is a Skill
College teaches you to write code. Industry requires you to read it — and read it quickly, across files you've never seen, in patterns you haven't learned yet. The fix: I started reading production code that wasn't related to my tickets. Just browsing through modules, understanding how decisions connected.
2. Ask Questions, But Attempt First
Come to me with questions. But come with an attempt, not a blank page.
My tech lead said this in my first week and it changed how I asked for help. Before pinging someone, I now spend at least 20–30 minutes genuinely trying. I document what I tried, what I expected, and what I got.
3. Code Reviews Are Conversations, Not Judgements
My first code review was painful. Comments on every function. Changes requested. I wanted to defend every line. With time I learned that a thorough review is a gift — someone is spending their attention on your work to make it better.
4. Communication Is Underrated
- Update your tickets before standup, not during
- If you're stuck for more than half a day, say something
- A PR description should be a one-paragraph story, not a diff summary
- Over-communicate when working remotely or across timezones
5. Build Things on the Side
My side projects — Stag, MyCart, MoneyPot — are where I practise things I don't get to do at work. New frameworks, different architectures, risky design decisions. Work necessarily limits experimentation. Side projects are where your taste develops.
A year in, I feel like I'm just starting to see the shape of what I don't know. That's probably a good sign.