麻豆传媒

In 2019, I was in the last year of my B. Tech (Bachelor of Technology) degree in Computer Science from Mumbai University when Shell came to our college for campus placements. Though the company was known to me at the time, I didn鈥檛 necessarily know what I鈥檇 be doing in the IT division when I was hired. For me, it was good enough that the company was reputable and the pay was great. It was only after I joined that I was able to see the extent of their IT operations and the support it provides to businesses. My role has since shifted to native software engineering, and I鈥檓 now a front-end developer on a few projects.

At the moment I鈥檓 a front-end developer and I am also learning back-end. That鈥檚 something I鈥檓 excited to move on to in the future. The opportunities for learning and growing have been great. The most exciting part is that we get to work with people from all over the world, learning about different cultures. In fact, some of the things I鈥檝e worked on aren鈥檛 even implemented in my region, but I can see the benefits when they鈥檙e implemented elsewhere.

Well, this is my first job, so I didn鈥檛 have a point of reference. I did join the company expecting to be at my desk all day, but I find that鈥檚 not expected at all. You just have to complete your work based on timelines, and no one tries to lock you to your desk. I even work the second shift, from 12 pm to 8 pm local time, because it鈥檚 more convenient to collaborate with team members in other time zones. I鈥檝e grown to like this kind of flexible culture.

 I鈥檒l say this: in any job we do, we need to have a thorough understanding of what and why we鈥檙e doing it. The knowledge of how my work impacts the business and the role I play in the larger scheme of things motivates me to do my best.

Also, we have an open culture here at Shell. We are heard, we regularly connect with a line manager to share our concerns, if we have any. So far, I鈥檝e seen every single issue I鈥檝e raised be addressed eventually.

I always wanted to be a full-stack developer, so I鈥檓 incredibly happy to be in the position I am. When I first joined, I was assigned a team that the company thought I would be able to contribute to, as is the case with everyone.

Since then, however, I鈥檝e also been able to shift back and forth between projects because I know how to work on both the back and front end. Of course, it was Shell that gave me experience on both fronts and enabled me to learn how to make scalable projects.

The key is to have a clear dialogue about your career aspirations with your managers and to simultaneously prepare for the role you are targeting for , so that if the opportunity arises where there is an opening for the role you are interested in, it becomes an easy transition.

I think the most important skill a new software engineer should have is good communication. You should have a set of skills for the technology you work with but that鈥檚 not entirely effective when you can鈥檛 articulate your thought process or if you do not understand your collaborator鈥檚 processes. One also needs to be confident and voice concerns at the right time and in the right way. The open culture at Shell enables every voice and that鈥檚 how the teams make the best progress. I used to be a very quiet person.

My line manager picked up on that a long time ago and suggested I improve my communication skills by conducting tech talks internally. I鈥檝e improved my communication skills since then. It鈥檚 just one of the ways in which we feel supported and improve our skills.

Shell鈥檚 technology arm is currently in the middle of a revolution and completely changing the way we think about energy, moving towards more sustainable energy sources. The larger strategic shift is led by a technological transformation and has changed the nature of projects we work on. Developers like me are upskilling and stepping back from the traditional ecosystem and building for a new world.