Lessons from 30 Years in IT: What I Wish I Knew Sooner About Career Fulfillment

As I wrap up my 30-year journey in the IT industry and prepare to dedicate myself fully to my initiative, RiteWay, I’ve found myself reflecting—not on achievements or milestones, but on the deeper lessons that shaped my journey.

I never chased titles or climbed thecorporate ladder for its own sake. Most of my career was focused on creating value through unique solutions/service line that I will help my company differentiate itself from the peers, building and mentoring strong team—often made up of people better than me who will again create value for the customers whom we serve. Unless there is customer/networking dinner or customer call, I rarely worked late evenings and I never encouraged my team also do so. Instead, I chose a balanced life: morning runs, tennis, treks, and time with family and friends. I always encouraged my team to prioritize personal health over anything else.

I could have gone higher—but I chose to go deeper and wider. And I have no regrets. But there are valuable lessons, which I learned towards the later part of my career, but I wish I had learned them earlier—lessons not about performance, but about purpose. Not about promotions, but about fulfillment.

1. Know Who You Are—Before the World Tells You Who to Be

Fulfillment starts with self-awareness. You need to know your personality type, core motivations, and what truly energizes or exhausts you. I discovered that I love problem-solving, mentoring, and building something new (solutions, service lines, scalable procss, reusable assets). I also learned that I get drained by long audio calls with large number of attendees, lack of clarity in roles & responsilities, or superficial visibility.

You won’t enjoy every part of a job. But you need the right balance of energizing and non-enjoyable tasks. If the scales tilt too far, the cost is often your energy, relationships, and even your health. In such situations, just do not keep the problem to your self, take help from people you trust or take professional help.

2. Stay Focused—There Will Be Good Times and Bad

In 30 years, I’ve seen cycles: booming years and slow ones, praise and criticism, excitement and burnout. But what kept me grounded was focus—on purpose, learning, and long-term contribution.

The key is to ride the waves without losing your anchor. Resilience is built not during good times, but in how you move through challenges without losing your direction.

“Don’t get overwhelmed with bad times—nothing is truer than this: even the darkest of nights is always followed by daylight.”

Keep trying. Don’t give up. Good time will definitely come. I belive that all we you have to to do is:

“Keep your oars in the water—and row like crazy. That’s how you reach the far shore.”

3. Focus taking ownership for creating value, Not Just Output

There’s a big difference between delivering tasks, managing teams/schedules/agreed-upon deliverables and creating value. The most respected professionals are those who ask:

“How is my work solving a real problem or helping someone?”

This mindset helped me build credibility and influence across all levels—far more than just being efficient.

4. Keep Evolving—Tools, Skills, and Self

The tech world doesn’t stand still—and neither should we. I’ve always made it a point to learn continuously. Whether it was a new tool, methodology, or a self-awareness framework, I invested time in development.

That mindset kept me adaptable and confident, even when roles or industries shifted. I often reminded myself of a simple but powerful teaching from Sri Ramakrishna:

“Jabat banchi, tabat shikhi” — As long as I live, so long do I learn.

5. Build Relationships in Every Direction—Not only in one direction

I’ve always been people-focused—but mostly in the downward direction: mentoring juniors, coaching teams. In hindsight, I would have invested more time in peer networks, cross-functional collaboration, and external communities. I should have spent equal amount of time in collaborating and building Relationships. These are not just emotional cushions—they are professional catalysts.

6. Your Manager Can Make or Break Your Career

This deserves its own space.

One of the hardest lessons I learned towards the fag end of my career, is that your relationship with your manager matters—a lot. If you are able to respect and trust your boss for his ablility to lead, your learning and growth accelerate. If not, no matter how good you are, you’ll eventually feel stuck or undervalued.

If you find yourself under a manager who is limitied in his spirit or doesn’t align with your values, don’t endure it long. Move, realign, or have the tough conversation, as quickly as possible. Don’t linger and expect the miracle to happen. Working with the wrong boss can silently derail an otherwise great career.

7. Build Your Specialization—Be Known for Something

One thing I learned is this:

If you’re good at something, become great. Then become known for it.

Whether you call it a USP, personal brand, or thought leadership—carve out your space. Contribute to your domain. Be invited to speak on it. Be remembered for your insights and trusted for your depth.

Over time, your identity becomes linked to your expertise—and people seek you out for it. This builds lifelong relevance.

But remember: your specialization must evolve. The world changes. AI augments many roles now, but specialists who understand their domain and know how to work with complementary tools (like AI) will remain in demand.

If you bring domain wisdom, experience, and empathy—combine that with technology that scales it. That’s your long-term career power.

Final Thought

If you’re a mid-career professional wondering, “Is this it?”—you’re not alone. There’s still time to pause, reflect, and realign.

That’s why I created RiteWay—to help others discover their path to fulfillment, not just success. Want to discuss, Contact Us!