Tessa's DrupalEasy Fellowship Experience: Collaborative, supportive, and agile

There is no one way to change a career path. Tessa Bower joined Palantir in 2021 through our Fellowship Program. Here's her story.
 

Where I Started

I’ve always enjoyed learning about tech, mostly focused in hardware; building/maintaining computers, networking, etc. Initially, I didn't really see myself learning programming or coding beyond what was required to make the hardware work; over time, however, I started to figure out that most of the fun with technology was in software, so I began to work in this space. I was working in IT Support before I was fortunate enough to hear about Palantir.net’s Fellowship opportunity to attend DrupalEasy.

My previous experience with networking architecture and command line for computers gave me a bit of a head start with learning Drupal at DrupalEasy, but much of it was new to me. What encouraged me was how Mike Anello, the lead instructor and curriculum developer at DrupalEasy, was so thorough in not only covering the basics, but in encouraging and being available for any and all questions I may have. 

Although there is only so much that can be learned about any given subject in the space of only a few months, I was able to take what I learned and build on it in a meaningful way and continue to grow. I felt comfortable in my professional development during my Plantir.net Fellowship, never feeling I was out of my depth or beyond my scope of ability. 

As front-end or back-end are the easiest entry points, I opted for back-end and have been working on learning and growing as an engineer. Figuring out how code works is a challenge but quite rewarding once things click into place.

The supportive atmosphere and agile way of thinking and working that Palantir.net provided is unlike anything I’ve experienced before within a work environment. I am glad I received this opportunity and look forward to where it will lead.

Where I Am Now

An amazing number of Palantiri have contributed to my success and inspired me to grow. I’ve found myself torn in many potential directions of interest and growth that I’m now stuck with the happy challenge of what direction I would like to take in my professional future. Working with tech of any flavor, whether for work or as a hobby, is always an opportunity for learning, and I am glad to see so much potential for my own development and growth. 

Having been with Palantir.net for a while now, I’ve found that the entire team has been eager to provide opportunities and support when I’ve shown interest in growing and expanding my current knowledge base. I have already branched out into Dev-Ops and am now looking at some project ownership down the road, as well as more coding in general.