So many possibilities await the IT graduate. But let's take a step back to discuss the three things which I think matters most for those of you who want to become successful in this field.

Solid Foundation. Yes, as students, we can be very undisciplined. I won't try to hide it myself. I used to cut a number of my classes, never found it useful to jot down notes during classes, and often crammed projects. I had other priorities, then. Even Deng Ching, one of our tech achievers, admits to cutting classes in the recent career talk at DLSU. I'm not suggesting you do so too. Simply saying it's alright to miss a few steps now and then. You stumble, fall back. You better stand up again. And continue to build your ammunition. Why else are you studying in the first place, if not to build your foundation?

This process of "building your foundation" is matter of fact something that has to be inculcated in your regular routine. It doesn't mean that after your studies and when you start working, you cease the learning. It's not like that. It's never like that. And that's the reason you need #3... but before that ...

Passion. "Learning never stops," is what Adrian Co, another software engineer rockstar, shared to the students at the same career expo. "I really love to code and it's that which keeps me going. It's what's pushing me to discover new things." If you're not at all interested about your course, then maybe it's not really for you. Time to shift gears. Why waste time and money, right? However, for those who really are into IT (such as me) -- then I'd probably suggest to have this principle: Do not wait for miracles to happen. Make them. Passionate people can move mountains and surely, with the right ammo and given #3, it's not as impossible as you think it is.

Fitting Atmosphere. I couldn't find the right term to use, so I'm left to say "fitting." This is clearly becoming the Hedgehog Concept, the way I see it. What I really mean is that you need to be (let's say at work) surrounded by and provided with the right tools and resources to make what you want happen. Deng says to the students (in relation to this) that you have to look at the company and see how you fit in the company. I second the statement. I know we have different priorities -- some of us need to make money, some of us just want to show to our parents that we can do it on our own, and luckily, some of us knows exactly just who/what we want to be. Whatever the case is -- if the company that you're employed with doesn't care about your growth, then you need to start looking at your options.

Clearly, our tech achievers -- Deng Ching, Venz Hua, and Adrian Co -- are happy that they have G2iX as their employer. (And very grateful that they have Mike Lim as their mentor.) "I'm challenged and I'm given the opportunity to be successful here," says Adrian Co. "I learned a lot more in my first 3 months of stay here at G2iX than the 9 months I spent working in my previous company," shares Deng.

(PS. And you know what, I can relate to them too.)

So there. Solid Foundation + Passion + Fitting Atmosphere = Great IT Career. I'd be glad to hear your thoughts on this. Till then, applications for Exist Code Camp in Manila are still open for aspiring software engineers. We're accepting applicants also for the Cebu code camp. Thanks to Rose for listing down why you need to join this program: Do you call yourself a programmer? Now, if you need more reasons, visit G2iXU's Exist Code Camp site.

But for those of you who interested to find about our current job openings, take a look at our requirements for Java and Ruby on Rails developers and Project Managers. If you think you have what it takes, send us an email at careers at g2ix dot com.