The 3 toughest choices I’ve ever had to make in life
It's the hard choices that define our lives and make us who we are today.
When I was 20 years old, I decided to become a programmer.
Of course, whenever we set goals in life, life tests us. And I was no exception.
These were the 3 most difficult choices I've ever had to make in life—and both directly impacted my career as a programmer.
Hard Choice #1: Programming or Medicine
After completing pre-med classes, doing wet lab research for two years, and getting a Neuroscience degree, I decided to give up on pursuing medicine.
It was a difficult decision, but I knew medicine was not a good fit. I learned during university that I liked to tinker, building things from the bottom-up. The medical career path was too regimented, the work too prescriptive.
At the time it felt like I was letting myself down, but really I was moving closer to the person I wanted to be.
Takeaway: It's OK to change your mind when you get new information.
Hard Choice #2: Startups or Big Tech
In 2021, I decided to quit my job at a medium sized tech company to join a newly created data science team at a small company.
I knew it was a risky decision, and I would end up getting laid off 4 months later. I was given two weeks severance and little to put on my resume. Luckily, I was able to get a job at a big tech company one month later.
While it may seem like a mistake in hindsight, it taught me a lesson about risk taking.
Takeaway: Take big risks on your side hustle, aim for the median outcome with your day job.
Hard Choice #3: Programming or Writing
This year I turned 30, and with it I decided to start writing more seriously.
In an ideal world, I would be able to keep my day job as a programmer and do writing on the side. In practice this is less than ideal as both require significant mental bandwidth. Some people manage to pull it off though.
On the one hand, I have built up career capital working as a programmer for around a decade now. On the other hand, being a writer has always been my dream career.
The truth is I'm not sure, and that's OK, I can take more time to figure it out. I will need to do this writing thing for longer to see where it can go.
Takeaway: Sometimes it's better to defer decisions until you have more options.
But here's the thing:
Being forced to make these choices ultimately got me to where I am today.
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And finally, leave a comment with the difficult decisions you've faced in your career, and what you ended up doing. I will read & reply to every single one of them!