From the “Illusion” of Graduation to the “Slap” of Reality
We’ve all been there, right? That moment you toss your graduation cap into the sky, holding your degree, feeling like you’ve just conquered the world. You survived the exams and those nights running deadlines fueled by liters of caffeine and Red Bull. You think: “Finally escaped the student life, now it’s time to be an adult with the freedom to make money!”
Then, the first day of work hits. Boom! Everything is far from what you imagined. As a language major “crossing over” into the IT world, for me, this place felt like another planet. Terms like Deploy, Submit, Release, API, Test, UI/UX… sounded completely alien, even though I had tried to research them beforehand.
If you are like me, you’ve probably panicked: “Do they know I just Googled that or asked ChatGPT? Did they hire the wrong person?”
🎭 The Trap Called “Imposter Syndrome”
For the first few weeks, going to work felt like walking a tightrope. I was afraid to ask questions because I feared exposing myself as “hollow” and full of flaws.
Sitting in meetings, listening to senior colleagues discuss systems and code flows effortlessly, I would just nod as if I understood, while my hands were under the table frantically noting down keywords to Google later. Or during meetings with Japanese clients—despite passing listening exams—reality hit hard when 7 or 8 people spoke at once. I was internally screaming, “Oh my god, what is everyone saying?”
I brought my “school mindset” into the company: The mindset of the absolute score of 10. I imposed on myself that since I was working, I had to understand everything immediately; I had to know it all to be “professional.”
💡 The Mindblowing moment
But then, one incident completely changed my perspective. In a tense meeting regarding a tricky technical issue, I held my breath waiting for my Manager to provide the perfect answer. But no, he calmly said: “Honestly, I don’t fully understand this part yet. I will look into it further and get back to you. Let’s find a solution together.”
That sentence woke me up. It turns out, in this vast world of technology, even the Boss has to learn. So, for an “outsider” like me not to know something is… completely normal!
Professionalism isn’t about trying to be a walking encyclopedia. Professionalism lies in the courage to admit: “I don’t know yet, but I will learn.” The spirit to face your shortcomings and readiness to “fill the holes” with new knowledge is the strongest weapon for growth.
🏫 The Truth: University vs. Work
After a while, I realized the biggest gap between school and the office isn’t skill—it’s expectation.
- At school, they test memory. Whoever knows the answer immediately is smart. We are evaluated based on what we know.
- At work, they test adaptability. Whoever knows how to find the answer (even if it takes time) is smart. We are evaluated on how we handle what we don’t know.
No one expects a Fresher to perform like an IT Director on day one. They hired us for our logical thinking and ability to learn, not because our memory capacity holds terabytes of data.
💌 A Message to You (and Myself)
If you are reading this, staring at your screen feeling “suffocated,” remember these three things:
- “Confusion” is part of the job. If you don’t find it hard to understand, it means you aren’t learning anything new. This industry changes fast; everyone has to be a lifelong learner.
- “I don’t know, let me find out” is not a bad answer. It is a billion times better than pretending to know, doing it wrong, and forcing your colleagues to clean up the mess later.
- The Team is there to lean on. You are not alone. From the Senior sisters in the ITD team to the Developer brothers and the Managers—they are experienced predecessors. Open up, learn, and ask for help. I’m lucky to have teammates who are always ready to guide me and never leave anyone behind.
We are just getting started. That anxiety you’re feeling? That’s fuel. It proves you truly care and want to do a good job.So, take a deep breath, drink some water, and boldly ask that “silly” question you’ve been hiding. We are all just “debugging” our careers together, one line of code at a time. Whenever things get tough, I always remind myself: “Easy roads are just the ones going downhill; only the difficult roads lead upward.”
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