Stephen Wen is a Commit Engineer who joined Side as a developer. We talked to Stephen about his journey to Commit and Side.
Tell me a bit about your background. What did you do before you joined Commit?
I was mainly a DevSecOps person helping startups and other small to medium, or even enterprise, companies transition from on-prem to cloud and make them more micro-service oriented. Basically, I helped them do most of the heavy lifting for all those migrations. It’s all been very DevOps-focused.
Did you study computer science?
No. Most of my skill set was self-taught.
How did you get connected to Commit?
I came across Commit through Beier. He reached out and said “Hey, I’ve got this opportunity. Would you be willing to give it a try?” We had a talk about the first job I ended up doing through Commit at another startup. So I gave that a try and it worked out pretty well, and I ended up going full time with the startup.
I worked for the startup for a couple more months, then I made the decision to pull out and rejoin Commit due to some changes in the vision and scope of work there. I decided it didn’t align with me anymore. I like Commit because if you change your mind, Commit always welcomes you back.
So you came back into the community, and then you got connected with Side. What attracted you to Side?
Side was a very positive experience right from the first interview. During the pilot period, I found the team culture really nice. Everybody works collaboratively. They’re very open and transparent about what they do, they take the initiative to do things without complaints. They’re a very effective team.
How would you describe what Side does?
Side is a white labelling company, a one-stop solution for all legal and documentation needs for real estate agents and brokers. It’s a platform that independent and affiliated real estate agents and brokers can use to deal with all their interactions with clients.
What would you say about Commit’s mission and model? What’s unique about the Commit community that you haven’t experienced before?
I think it’s the support I get and access to all the resources I need. When you’re looking for a startup to join there is a lot of communication. Commit helps to filter it and ease that process. During the pilot phase, there are follow ups and check-ins to see whether I’m OK with the startup and whether I need help, or if I need other resources. It’s very helpful.
Before, without Commit, during the normal probation period we would just work as hard as possible and perform our best to show that we were capable of handling the job. But now with Commit, it’s really balanced everything out so I don’t have to stress anymore.
What would you say to other engineers wondering whether they should join Commit?
I think 99% of the time, I would say definitely give it a try, there’s no harm. Commit provides access to a greater community to support your career growth, the technology stacks and startups that fit your needs and build your career path.