A Big Career Change: From 7 Years at Huawei to Frontend Development

When I left the world of telecom and team management—and the years I had spent at Huawei—to move into software development, I didn't have a clear picture of the future.

I only knew one thing: I wanted a life and a professional identity that actually felt aligned with who I am.

But that turning point didn't come out of nowhere. The years before that were their own kind of school.

What Huawei Built in Me

Huawei was where I learned what it really means to work inside a large organization—not from the outside, but from the middle of the system.

For the first time, I truly understood:

• how departments and hierarchies work,
• how to communicate with different levels of management,
• and how serious "customer centricity" can be when your main customer is a company like MTN Irancell.

We had endless meetings about customer performance, SLAs, and relationship management.

Inter-organizational behavior wasn't something I was naturally good at. I made a lot of clumsy mistakes in the beginning.

But senior managers—people with decades of experience—would point out small things that later became principles I built my own work on.

I learned that:

• Reporting isn't a formality; it's the backbone of trust.
• Presenting your work is a skill—being clear, honest, and precise matters.
• As long as everything was working, nobody bothered you. But a single wrong number in a report could trigger calls, meetings, and investigations from multiple sides to understand exactly what went wrong.

That experience burned one lesson into my brain: before I send anything upwards, I need to test it and check it myself.

Later, this became crucial in my coding mindset: the code I write shouldn't just "work once". It should be something I can come back to months later and still trust.

On top of that, combining soft skills (communication with managers, teamwork, handling stress, taking ownership) with hard skills like data analysis, Python, and Excel gave my growth a structure.

It wasn't random anymore; it became intentional.

That's why, when I joined a professional team like NexaPortal, I didn't feel like "a nobody starting from zero".

I could present myself properly, bring the values I had developed at Huawei into the team, and clearly see how I could contribute to the product and the business.

Starting Over—Where the Path Gets Scary

Even with all of that behind me, changing careers was still scary.

Those first days felt like walking in the fog.

I was leaving an environment where everything was defined: the org chart, the salary, the responsibilities… and stepping into a field with no guarantees.

My income became unstable. Managing my finances turned into a real headache at times.

At the same time, I had to start learning from scratch, take small projects, fail, rebuild, and slowly understand what "real growth" actually looks like.

There was one thing that helped me from the inside: I kept going.

Not with hype. Not with motivational quotes.

With quiet, sometimes tired, consistency.

At some point I realized: this is the real "secret"—keep going even when you don't feel like it. Even when you're scared. Even when nothing is clear yet.

Mental Freeze and the Turning Point

One of the hardest challenges I faced wasn't technical at all.

It was about having the courage to show up. To present. To let myself be seen.

Every time I wanted to present something, demo a feature, or explain something to a team, my mind would freeze.

It was strange. I had led teams before, but now, in this new role, I felt like a beginner who suddenly forgets how to speak.

Eventually I understood why: a big part of me was still attached to my old identity.

I was still mentally sitting in my previous safe zone, where my role was already defined and respected. Now I had to redefine myself from scratch.

The real turning point was when I allowed myself to be free—free from the perks, the comfort, and the sense of security that came with my previous path.

That decision unlocked something in my mind.

I stopped feeling like a piece of ice floating in a cold ocean… and started to feel like a swimmer who chooses to dive into warmer, but deeper, waters.

That change wasn't just technical. It was about who I am.

The Tools I Collected Along the Way

I wasn't alone on this path.

We all carry some kind of "toolkit" with us. Mine looked like this:

• People who stayed close and didn't let me burn out under pressure.
• A program called "Aknoon" that helped me build mental and emotional structure in the middle of chaos.
• Books like The Art of Thinking Clearly and The Compound Effect that gave me a deeper understanding of decision-making and consistency.
• And most importantly: the habit of slow refuelling.

I made a commitment to myself not to burn out.

Whenever I felt my energy dropping to zero, I pulled over, refuelled, and came back.

No hero narrative. Just a smart system trying not to destroy itself.

Those small daily acts of consistency are what kept me from quitting—especially on days when, from the outside, it looked like "nothing special" was happening.

Challenges That Made Me Go Deeper

Career change is not just about learning a new skill. It's about changing the angle from which you look at life and work.

This path forced me to:

• think more honestly and realistically,
• face hard realities, not just dreams,
• live with failures, delays, and financial pressure,
• take personal development more seriously,
• become stronger not only for myself, but also for the people around me,
• and, most importantly, take full responsibility for my own growth.

None of these were simple. Each one opened a new layer of my mind and personality.

I started to taste what "results" really feel like—and I realized that if I want bigger outcomes, I don't just need to move faster; I need to go deeper.

Where I Stand Today

Today, when I work as a frontend developer—building products, collaborating with a team, and planning for the future—I feel something much clearer than before:

I can create value.

Not just write code. Not just close tickets.

But:

• influence the product,
• improve the user experience,
• show up honestly inside the team,
• and build a balance between quality, mental health, and long-term consistency.

Everything I learned at Huawei—the discipline of reporting, customer centricity, cross-team communication, data analysis with Python and Excel—is now woven into my work in frontend.

That integration helped me, when I joined NexaPortal, not to be "just another developer", but someone who can translate previous experience into today's context and create real value for the product, team, and business.

I'm hopeful about the future.

I know that when I come back to this article five years from now, I'll both smile and feel a deeper sense of maturity.

Because I know one thing: this path is still unfolding.

And most importantly: I'm finally enjoying the path itself—something I had been chasing for years: to enjoy the journey, keep going, and stay true to myself.

A Final Note

For me, this is not just a story. It's a personal roadmap that shows where I started, what I went through, and how I think today.

If I keep going—with consistency, depth, and authenticity—I'm confident I'll be in a much better place a few years from now.

And if you're currently stuck between the fear of losing your old security and the desire to build your own path, maybe this text has just one simple message for you: