A reflection on my first-year experience with General Motors (Israel) as a software engineer?

It's been more than a year at General Motors. I work as a FullStack Software Engineer. Apparently, I was chosen for a senior position. I don't put it as part of the title because it is not humble. When I joined GM, I had no expectations at all, except I wanted to work with a manager who respects and values my experience, enthusiasm, and effort. I found what I was looking for and even more.

Being open-minded at General Motors did me wonders. I must admit, when I joined Microsoft and Amazon, I came with expectations. That was the reason I made a lot of bad decisions along the way. It would be a shame to waste them without learning a lesson or two.

Would you believe that this year, I built two major projects from the ground up? It is not that I hit the keyboard and voila, they are there! No. It is a game I play no more. I planned my work in an elaborated design document that went through several iterations with the best engineers in the company. After the design settled to be satisfying with a work plan, I hit the keyboard. My roadmap was 100% accurate. I, myself, didn't believe that. Is it me or the other me?

What I am looking for is a success. I believe it is something everybody is looking for. I am not talking about this success. What I am looking for is the success of my efforts. I want to see my services scale with customers and turn on the wheels of CI/CD to improve and grow. I want to see my work discussed, grown, and maintained by professional engineers I work with. I want the customer's feedback to bring bigger plans to develop and improve. I want my projects to be busy and alive. That's what I strive for and that's where I am heading.

I believe this attitude was initiated and is maintained by me with support from my management and the workplace culture. Some folks would respond with a mild surprise and disapproval and I understand. What moves me is taken for granted by many folks. I believe that some are enthused by the workplace perks. Ice creams, soda drinks, Gym, Gaming consoles, and whatnot. Well, I abhor sugars and I love martial arts. I am not Bruce Lee but I am pretty close.

Looking forward, I want to improve and scale up my work at General Motors, I want to be part of the products I love that General Motors is leading. The EV revolution, the HummerEV, the Cadillac Lyric, the Chevy Muscle, GMC, etc... I may have the chance to visit General Motors headquarters in Michigan and experience these products.