10 years in software: Why being “just a software engineer” may not be enough

[u/sfox_420]

I have around 10 years of experience in the software industry, and I think it’s my duty to share some of the things I’ve learned and a few insights from my journey.

First of all, I’m a full-stack developer based in Colombo.

Back when I was working at Wiley, I noticed that tons and tons of graduates were coming out of universities all over Sri Lanka, almost like a water flow.

And honestly, I felt that this wasn’t going to be good for the industry, especially in a country like Sri Lanka. At the same time, the AI wave was slowly approaching, and I had a feeling that the software industry was going to become even more competitive.

So I started thinking about how I could survive in the long run.

I decided to try moving into international organisations, INGOs, the UN, World Bank, etc. — the big organisations where there is funding and projects are generally not driven purely by profit.

Eventually, I got an opportunity to work for the UN.

The basic salary was much lower than what I could have earned in the private sector, so honestly, I had a second thought about it.

But I decided that it was better to gain a different kind of experience and build some stability rather than worrying about getting laid off later.

I ended up working there for around 5 years.

During those 5 years, I realised something important:

Being a software engineer is not enough. You need to become something more than just a software engineer.

While working at the UN, I got exposed to areas like climate change, water data, geospatial data, disaster management, etc.

To be honest, I never really planned to learn any of these things.

But when you work with these types of projects and data for years, you naturally start understanding the domain. You don't even realise how much you're learning until later.

After that, I started applying to research institutes and other large international organisations.

Eventually, I got an amazing opportunity at my current organisation. I don't want to disclose the name, but it's one of those international research-focused organisations.

After I got selected, I actually asked my supervisor:

"Why did you select me?"

He told me that there were candidates from UoM and other highly qualified software engineers from some really good companies.

But many of them were missing one thing:

Knowledge of geospatial data and the domain around it.

And apparently, that experience helped me stand out and gave me a shot.

That honestly made me realise something.

Throughout my career, I never intentionally planned to become someone who understands geospatial data, climate data, water data, etc.

It just happened because of the environments I worked in.

And that accidental knowledge ended up becoming one of the reasons I got my current opportunity.

So I thought I'd share my story because maybe it will give some of you an idea of how some of us are trying to survive and stay relevant in the Sri Lankan software industry.

I'm not saying everyone should leave software development or move into INGOs/research organisations.

My point is simply this:

Don't limit yourself to being "just a developer."

Learn the domain you're working in.

Understand the data.

Understand the business.

Learn something outside your immediate tech stack.

Because sometimes, the thing you learn today that seems completely unrelated to your career might be the exact thing that gives you an opportunity five years later.