This week marks my last week at Fullscript, and what an amazing journey it has been. In 2 years at Fullscript I have learned a lot, witnessed a lot of progress in my career and personal development. Let me explain.

I joined Fullscript in December 2019 as a Senior JavaScript Engineer. Back then, I was living in the UAE enjoying the all-year summer heat, the fancy malls, and being close to home (Egypt). My decision to apply to Fullscript was quick because the idea of moving around between countries for work has been always fascinating to me. I told myself this is a company that looks young and promising, let me try to interview with them and see how it goes. The experience you get from living in a different country for an extended time is magical despite all the stress it comes with.

From my first interview with Fullscript, I could sense that they are different. Do you know the stereotype that says Canadian are super nice? It’s 100% true. The first interview was technical and it went fine, the following two interviews went fine as well and I got an offer and a reputable law firm to help me with the work permit and visa process.

Two months later, I landed in Canada in a -10°C (coming from 40°C) weather at the beginning of the winter season. I took a weekend to explore the city and Monday I started the orientation and onboarding process. I was introduced to the different functions of the company. Here is marketing, here is sales and let’s throw you into an hour session with a customer service agent to see how Fullscript interacts with customers. Before I knew anything about Engineering, I knew a lot about other departments, it felt different, overwhelming, but I immediately felt connected and engaged. That was a smart move from whoever was responsible for onboarding new members to Fullscript at this time.

A year passed at Fullscript, me doing what I was hired for: working on the frontend of the patient side of the platform. I then went home for some time off, and when my vacation was coming to an end, I got a message from the Director of Engineering Management that they would like me to start an Acting Tech Lead role with a newly formed team. They noticed that I have some people and management skills, they wanted to empower me and give me the opportunity. I was super excited (terrified) and accepted. Another year passed, me trying to learn and lead a team of 5 fantastic engineers, with the help of a UI/UX Designer and a Product Manager.

Here is what I have learned during my journey with Fullscript:

• You don’t have to be crazy big to do things right. Engineering in Fullscript is mature. They have a great sense of what’s good vs. bad. They don’t cheap out on investment in tech.
• People first. You can see the impacts of this belief of putting people first everywhere in Fullscript. They deeply care about their people and invest a ton in their development. They care on a personal level. They know deep down that work will be done no matter what, and that investing in your people is the way to go beyond just delivering projects.
• Bring your heart and soul into the game. To be completely honest; before joining Fullscript I only cared about work from a professional aspect. Fullscript taught me how to open up, how to have genuine and deep conversations with people, and how to care about your colleagues and look beyond your professional relationship with them. The benefits I gained from this behavior shift are huge and I’m forever grateful to them for teaching me this lesson.
• Balancing between being flexible and following “some” processes is the way to go. I have seen places where processes are there just for the sake of having rules. I have also seen places where everything is nimble and fluid that you can’t be certain about a lot of things. I learned in Fullscript how to balance between the two qualities.
• Don’t stay on the reactive side of the conversation, write your own job description, and don’t wait for people to tell you what to do. If you think something will improve the quality of work? show it, don’t think it.
• Don’t freak out when you feel that everything is broken. It’s part of the job, and you will go through it eventually. Trust your gut and be diligent when you make decisions and the stars will align.
• Having a lot of fun at work feels insanely great. Either it’s a virtual game at the end of team meetings, or a watercooler chat that is all talking about donuts and pets, or even receiving a hilarious shirt at my front door that has Shakira all over it because I once mentioned I used to listen to Shakira a lot when I was young.

I can’t wait to start my new job, truly excited about it. But it just felt right to take a minute and try to write down my thoughts about Fullscript and how they helped shape my character and perspective as a software engineer.