there are different ways of getting where you think you are going

I had definitely taken a few turns on my career path

Who?

Translator

A hearts desire for quite some years. stayed a hobby most of the time though.

Project manager and key account

Wanted to be a translator and somehow ended up as a project manager in a packaging design agency with international clients.

Software developer

Started with android development quite some time ago. Then worked on big data projects with kafka and java as well as a proprietary low code developer platform. Changed the company and worked on microservices, java and kotlin, git and google cloud, ETL, sap and salesforce interfaces. Had the role of a tech team lead for a while before becoming a mother (again).

Family manager and mother

Got two kids on the way, which was probably the most challenging part on my career path.

Why?

I often hear people being astonished. how did I move from translating into engineering? There is actually a lot of parallel skills in the work of translator and software developer. Different languages, obviously. Looking for different ways of expressing what you mean, analysing the syntax and semantics, logical thinking and analytical skills, always staying open-minded and learning fast new domains.

On the other hand, is a family manager very similar to a project manager job. Stay on top, see the big picture and plan ahead, be well organized and lead people, social and communication skills, listening, empathy, care, time management, expectation management and motivation, team work, getting along with different characters and dealing with conflicts.

So what?

Not going straight actually stretches your horizons.

After my matura exams I couldn't imagine myself working in a lot of different jobs. I thought I need to have a plan for the whole life and stick to it once decided. But life had its ways with me and funny enough with time I realized that with a set of skills you master you could choose very different professions. The most important is in the end to stay open-minded and to believe in the motives and goals, putting your time and effort in something meaningful to you. Take the wave and surf it.