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Staying Clever and Leaping Further
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The Impact of Collegiality
Inside Guidewire: Sam Aryal, Platform Support Engineer
Sam started at Guidewire as a Technical Support Engineer (or First Responder), and now works at Guidewire as a Platform Support Engineer on the GSC (Global Services Center) Team. Read about Sam's career journey, coming from a coding bootcamp background and then flourishing #InsideGuidewire!
I joined Guidewire because of my experience during the interview which was very welcoming and supportive. I am staying for the same, plus the opportunities for growth and advancement that I get at Guidewire. I wanted a job that would keep training me.
I had just graduated from a coding bootcamp and started embarking into my journey into tech. I went to a coding bootcamp (Tech Elevator) to learn full stack development. I learned Java, Javascript, SQL, PostgreSQL, in an intense yet collaborative environment. Getting into tech was an attempt to adapt with the growing technical presence in every industry. It was also a challenge to myself to make use of my logical and calculative mind to learn the language of a computer. More than the learning, the pace of learning and the act of collaboration (as we call it 'shop talk') has helped me tremendously in keeping up with the pace of my coworkers.
Since joining Guidewire, I have learned another side of the tech away from code and have also been exposed to the side of configuration and cloud platform; all while being a vital part in customer communication. I was able to support multiple customers in their environment provisioning to deployments while troubleshooting configuration issues alongside cloud engineering. I also acquired an AWS - Cloud Practitioner certificate. Guidewire not only paid for the certification, but also made learning easily accessible via A Cloud Guru.
In addition to being AWS - Cloud Practitioner certified, I've gained skills in Salesforce, and I understand some features of OKTA that have to do with authentication and authorization. I am getting more proficient with cloud architecture every day, and I have met so many individuals who have made me turn into a 'techie'. 😉
My advice to a new employee would be to learn, learn, learn. Invest time in training courses provided, communicate with your manager about your goal and they will provide a path. Keep asking questions and keep learning. As a new employee, there are many milestones to cross.
In the next five years, I wish to gather expertise to support a customer as a Technical Account Manager. Success for me means a productive work environment and a balanced and fulfilling personal life. Professionally, I will have made it when I have reached a point of satisfaction with my income supporting the personal life I desire, and having the confidence, knowledge and experience to mentor and lead others.
My role is to communicate and troubleshoot underlying issues to support customers in running their day to day business in GWCP (Guidewire Cloud Platform). We handled cases as "First Responders" before where we would communicate with customers and route cases as needed, whereas now as platform support we execute some of those tasks ourselves. Working in support feels normal to me. As I have been in customer service working directly with consumers, I am able to see things from a consumer perspective. All of my soft skills in understanding the pain points of the problems helps me give a human aspect to the technical issue.
My favorite things about my role are bridging between multiple teams, being a customer representative when handling cases, dealing with other departments and my team, and the constant learning.
It was difficult to adjust in a team with numerous different expertise and knowledge. However, it turned into a blessing when I had experts in all areas who were willing to guide and support me through my learning.
I have yet to decide if it is Guidewire as a whole or if it is my team, I feel I am always inspired and motivated to do better and keep growing. I had a role change due to a re-org in the company, however I am planning to move towards a management or sales role in the future. Moving internally gives you comprehensive knowledge on team dynamics and subject matter experts. This information can be found in other companies as well, however with a company like Guidewire I believe that the longer you stay in the environment, the deeper your knowledge.
In my short tenure in Guidewire I have learned that Guidewire wants you to grow and become an expert, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work here after my coding bootcamp. This is my first tech job, so I am not aware if other companies are similar or better, but the amount of opportunity I have received to grow at Guidewire so far makes me feel lucky to have chosen this company.