July 2025 Retrospective
Introduction
This month might have been the happiest stretch of my life.
In the span of a single month, I went through all three acts: closure, rest, and a new beginning.
As recently as late May I was still feeling a vague restlessness — hungry for growth but unsure of the path. Then, while staying focused on what I could do with gratitude, a good opportunity found me, and I joined a new team.
This post is a record of that one-month journey, centered on three things: the experience of leaving my first job, a short reset between chapters, and two weeks of onboarding at a place where a new kind of growth has begun.
1. Closing Out My First Chapter
June 12, 2024 — my first day at my first company — still feels vivid.
After joining, I took over a new-business project that had been outsourced, and together with Koon (who covered backend as well) and Jiyoung (our designer), we shipped the platform in three months. The service was eventually sunset, but the feeling of having generated ₩3,000,000 in revenue with our own hands — and the bittersweet moment of shutting down the server — became an important part of my foundation as a developer.
After that, I built the in-house solution the company had long wanted: the "Vision System." It migrated data that had been managed in spreadsheets into a proper web system, and it ended up being used across IR, risk management, and more — the service teammates reached for most often. Watching colleagues use it comfortably gave me a deep sense of satisfaction as a developer.
Through all of this, I realized something about myself: I'm not a developer who loves React as a tool — I'm a developer who loves the process of discovering and solving customer pain. If solving a problem required backend work or GitHub Actions, I had no fear of picking up an unfamiliar technology. I want to hold onto that mindset going forward.
As I wrapped up thirteen months, I made sure my handoff documentation was thorough and thoughtful to the end. I was genuinely grateful, and the memories with my teammates will stay with me for a long time.
Recharging Before the Next Chapter
Between leaving and starting, I had about ten days off. I spent five of them traveling with my parents; the rest went to personal errands, hobbies, and my faith.
Talking with my parents about the hard times of job hunting, a question surfaced: "How do you keep from losing heart?" You can't avoid the feeling of discouragement when things get hard — but I was reminded again how important it is to build your own recovery routine, something that keeps you from staying in that feeling too long. Whether it's running, faith, or something else entirely, having a mechanism that picks you back up is anything but trivial.
2. A New Growth Opportunity: OpenDoctor
I started my two weeks at the new company carrying a mix of anticipation, excitement, and a little nerves. It felt like an intensive orientation — the kind where you immerse yourself in the organization's culture and ways of working. Every piece of history was well-documented, and a structured onboarding process made it easy to settle in smoothly.
A Structured Development Process
Two-week sprints, ticket prioritization tied to north-star metrics, a retro culture — the kind of process I'd always wanted to build at my previous company was already here, and all I had to do was plug in and experience it. I felt confident that I could bring my energy to this environment, tackle problems sharply, and contribute in a variety of ways.
Customer-Centered Communication
The thing that stuck with me most from my 1-on-1 with Seonguk, our PO, was this:
"When you speak from the customer's perspective, it becomes much easier to communicate across different roles."
Not "Method B is better than A," but "From the customer's point of view, B feels more comfortable." That small shift, I learned, completely changes how persuasive you sound and how collaborative the atmosphere feels.
Git as a Collaboration Tool
Having gotten used to working solo, I'd lost my feel for some of the core Git concepts. I revisited them: the difference between merge and rebase, cherry-pick, prune, and other practical commands — this time with a clear understanding of why each one exists. All of that effort points toward a single goal:
"Make it easy for a teammate to understand my code."
That means putting intent into every commit and writing clear messages.
Structured Thinking — The Foundation of Getting Things Done Well
During onboarding, the CEO ran a session on structured thinking himself. The core was the ability to break down problems, prioritize them, and simplify. Frameworks like issue trees and MECE felt immediately applicable to day-to-day engineering work.
I also got feedback that a casual question like "Why is this implemented this way?" can put people on the defensive. That taught me that even questions need to be structured. I made a new resolution: I want to become the best questioner here.
Closing
Two weeks in. My body is a little tired, but my heart is full.
Understanding the organization's and team's goals through onboarding has shifted something: I no longer think purely in terms of feature implementation. Now I find myself asking what value this feature actually delivers to the customer. Going forward, I want to try proving that value in quantitative terms.
This job change has also helped me realign my career direction. Instead of the vague goal of "a developer interested in security," I've decided to prioritize becoming a developer who understands the intent behind requirements and implements the best possible solution. To get there, I plan to actively use AI tools and think seriously about how to learn faster and more deeply.
Goals for H2 2025
- Implement requirements for the internal CRM solution and drive structural refactoring
- Read the Toss Clean Code documentation in full and apply it in code (with PRs)
- Study a book on unit testing and apply what I learn in real work
- Study a book on OOP and apply the concepts in a personal project
August Action Points
- Read and summarize a book on the medical real estate domain
- Begin the internal CRM improvement work in earnest
- Finish the books received during onboarding and write up notes
- Practice AS-IS / TO-BE comparisons based on technical books
- Read the PRD thoroughly before starting implementation and clarify development conditions
- Introduce error boundaries and Slack integration (contributing beyond pure development)