Back when I was in college, I wanted to have a personal website. The reason was understandable: Having a portfolio to show employers when applying for a job. With a summary of my projects and a single technical blog post, not sure creating this website helped me to get any offers that I received.
I have switched 2 jobs and more than 2 years have passed. At some point I started to question whether I really needed a personal website. Thinking about this and getting tired at work, made me archive this website. But nowadays I feel like I need a personal website, again. This time though, not just for hunting jobs.
I find it always enjoyable to finish a polished project that is also fun while working on it. Basically, I expect to achieve personal satisfaction and have a universal portfolio that I can show off my skills on.
But I have concern: I could be wasting my precious 20s, not going crazy and taking advantage of these years but creating technical works that probably won’t help me in the long run. Still, there are reasons to do this.
Sharing Technical Studies, as a Motivation
I believe an engineer (or everyone, I don’t know) can always feel under qualified and want to work on improving technical proficiencies of themselves. At least this is how I feel 99 percent of the time. Which has both good and bad effects on a person. On the good side, it can help a person to get better. But on the bad side, a person can always feel bad about themselves and this can effect mental health of own. Always thought it is ideal to keep a balance between the two sides for someone to feel good about themselves.
I have a list of study topics that grows over time but never gets any item removed from it. In college, the team I worked in prevented me from working on them because I spent all my time for the team. After college, getting tired at work also prevented me from working on them after the work. Looking at the past, these two only sounds like laziness. I could be studying these topics and learning new skills no matter what my current situation. I just need discipline to spend some amount of time on them.
There is this one valid question still left: Why would anyone learn a new technical skill that is not going to make any money? I can learn a new technical skill, new framework or a new language at work, if I have to. But still, I always feel under qualified. Not working on them also results in guilt. Swinging between working on things that I don’t have to and not working anything ended with one very valid reason.
Having a Portfolio, as a Motivation
I graduated from a university that is considered bad by lots of people, including me. I find the level of education isn’t enough. Therefore couldn’t learn as much as technical abilities as I would’ve liked. Cherry on top, I believe my diploma isn’t valid outside of Turkey. Which means I’m not considered an engineer outside Turkey. But it is easier to blame others; I didn’t take the lessons seriously and took every easy way to pass the lectures (no cheating). Not maximizing what I had in hand, made this situation even more problematic.
This all makes me think, I haven’t got any solid foundation that will make me get a job if I were to need a job, desperately. Nobody cares about my university (hell, nobody knows it exists in the first place) and I don’t have an impressive resume. I need a universal portfolio and recognition to survive.
This is the reason that I wanted to work on myself, even after work. I should be able to apply a job in any part of the world and have a high possibility to get an offer. Because I don’t have family wealth that will keep me going or a rich boss uncle that will employ me no matter what. I am alone in this world and have to make sure I got just enough experience/skills to get employed.
Sharing Hobbies, as a Motivation
6 months ago, I bought a motorcycle. After that date, little to none days have passed that I didn’t ride it. I enjoy riding it and traveling remote places with it. Along the way, I am taking pictures. I thought sharing these photos and my routes can be cool. So, I shared one on this website.
Looking at it, I feel good. Prepared a nice page with what I did on that day and logged a great memory of mine. I think little to none people are really interested in this particular trip but it honestly doesn’t matter. That page saves a memory of mine and memories are what makes me happy and keeps me going.
A personal website is a great place to share something like this. Even though no random person cares about this most of the time, I can show them to my friends if we were to talk places that I had been there. We could call this an Instagram profile but with limitless amount of customizability.
Conclusion
I decided to have a personal website to share things on it, before I have something to share. I would consider this is a bad practice for any context. But the motivations stated above are enough for me to work on them afterwards.
Plan is simple: If I wanted to work on some technical skill, draw a roadmap and put the hours in. If I don’t feel like working on anything, no sweat. I woult take a break; I am not behind a deadline.
If I done something cool, will post it here. After all, nobody cares anyone’s personal website. I am doing this to collect my memories.