After almost three and a half years I've made the incredibly hard decision to leave Ten Mile Square. When I arrived, I was a software engineer in the beginning of my career. My previous jobs had gotten me used to a very prescriptive way of working. I was on one project, with one boss, and focused on implementing each of my tickets. I was a full-stack coder, with the hopes of growing into a software engineer.

When I made the decision to join Ten Mile I was afraid to join a team of people vastly more experienced than I. I was sure I'd feel dumb everyday and have no idea what they were talking about. I couldn't imagine feeling confident enough to speak directly to our clients without top cover. But I took the leap.

It was worth it in every way. I started on a full-time project onsite with one client. I had three wonderful coworkers working right there with me and learned different things from each of them. When my senior colleague left, I stepped into his shoes for the back half of the project. It was an invaluable experience. I learned that I liked interfacing with clients and discussing project prioritization. I discovered that I could architect a solution and help others implement those patterns. And most of all, I realized how much I enjoyed gaining the trust of customers, and delivering what they wanted and needed.

When that project ended, my world turned upside down. No longer was I focused on one client, or even one software system. I was in deep in the consultancy world. What followed over the next 2+ years was work with dozens of clients of various shapes and sizes. I've developed Python, PHP, Java, JavaScript and more. I've used React, Vue, Node, Brightspot the list goes on. I've been a tech lead, an architect, a PM, a technical writer, a teacher, and more. I've worked on frontend projects, backend projects, hardware projects, firmware projects, CI/CD pipelines and database design.

It's truly been the learning experience of a lifetime. The opportunity to try everything and discover my favorite bits. The experience working with so many teams and products and recognizing the good and the bad. I've grown so much in my time at Ten Mile.

And above all, I have worked with some of the most supportive people I've encountered in my career thus far. They always cared about my personal growth and opportunities. When I fell in love with teaching, blogging and speaking, they supported me the whole way. When I got excited about JavaScript and exploring all kinds of different frameworks like React and Vue, they told me to go for it. As I became passionate about technical interviews, they listened and allowed me to help craft a new internal process. They believed in my abilities and constantly made me feel valued.

They're a wonderful team, of wonderful people and I will miss working there immensely. But just as joining Ten Mile was a leap, so too is leaving. I'm looking forward to what comes next.