Varun Sharma on Software Engineering, Climate Change, and Taking Inspiration From Movies

Hey Hackers! I’m Varun Sharma, and I’m a Software Engineer.

First of all, a huge thank you to the gzht888.community and staff for nominating me for a 2021 Noonies award!

This is going to be a small conversational interview kind of post where you will get to know a bit about me and my journey, along with my thoughts and opinions on some of the things we talk about.

1. What do you do and why do you do it? (tell us your story)

I have been working as a Software Engineer for the past 3.5 years. I create applications that empower businesses to run their operations, engage their users, and serve them effectively thereby creating an impact on the intended ecosystem. Since Technology has so much impact on our lives now, I can see that the work I do matters, and that’s why I really enjoy doing it.

2. Tell us more about the things you create / write / manage / build!

I create web applications, and since I’ve worked with custom software development companies, in this short span of time, I got a chance to work on a diverse set of projects, including Multi-tenant systems, E-commerce applications, messaging queues, etc. Whichever team I work with, our goal is to deliver applications that are well architected, scalable, and make efficient use of resources.

3. How did you end up on your current career path? Do you like it?

One fine day I woke up, watched Pirates of the Silicon Valley. The portrayal of Bill and Steve really moved me, and I was convinced to take this path. Jokes apart, I do take inspiration from movies, but this is not what actually happened in my case. I wanted a career that is full of possibilities and has the potential to create an impact on the lives of people. This is my way of doing it, and I really like it.

4. What tech are you most excited or passionate about right now and why?

Well, there are a lot of things I’m excited about, to name a few AI/ML, decentralized applications, AR/VR. All these have the potential to change many of the things from how they work conventionally.

5. What tech are you most worried about right now and why?

All the things I mentioned in my last answer are on this list; the reason stays the same. They have the potential to impact a lot of things drastically, depending on how they’re being used. Apart from this, I am concerned about personalization. Of course, there are both sides to this, and a lot of arguments can be made, which I won’t be able to cover in this answer, so we can save it for some other day.

6. If we gave you 10 million dollars to invest in something today, what would you invest in and why?

I care about the cause of climate change, so I will divert these funds towards the same cause. It might be starting an organization dedicated to the cause or a community that is able to work on a lot of verticals to help the cause. For my personal Ambitions, I would prefer to do that myself.

7. What are you currently learning?

As I mentioned in one of my previous answers, we create applications that are well architected and scalable. It’s a really vast field, and I’m just at the tip of the iceberg. I will continue to explore the same in the future as well. Apart from work, I have an interest in Economics, Financial markets, Psychology. I keep exploring them as and when the time permits.

8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

There is a lot of advice I received over time, and I cannot name the best, but I am grateful for all the ones. However, there is something I would like to share. Learning this or that is not what one should focus upon; rather, the important thing is learning how to learn.

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