What 5 years of tech work in Silicon Valley has Taught Me
It was a typical arrival to an atypical place. A few exits away from Sand Hill Road, in 2015 I was dropped off by my second cousin to the driveway of a house that would be my temporary lodging. I didn’t bring much — a few clothes, my laptop bag, and dreams of breaking into tech. At the time, Big Tech hadn’t become a four-letter word. There was just the promise of growth and change. The promise of a new beginning.
While the journey is always different from what you expect, the destination is not too far off. Despite several ups and downs, thinking back to the first few moments of arriving here — of walking and Uber-ing everywhere until getting my car, of meeting almost 100 startup founders and investors, and going to events to network — kept me grounded and gave me reassurance that the journey is just beginning.
Even now, after escaping the hellish wildfires and COVID spikes in the Bay Area back to sunny Florida, a part of me looks forward to returning once it safely reopens. Ambition and adventure were what brought me there. Nostalgia is what will bring me back.
Embrace Competition
Santa Clara Valley and the greater SF Bay Area are very competitive. Some of the top graduates from Berkely, Stanford, and other universities look for jobs at top tier tech…
