When it comes to his career, Piotr Kala is a planner. Kala, a software engineer at fintech company Clear Street, already has his professional development goals locked in for 2024: Become proficient in Go and become an expert in Kafka.
It just so happens that his professional development goals include learning a language and technology critical to his company’s business — and that’s by design.
“When setting professional goals, I look for areas where I can enhance my personal skill set while simultaneously contributing to Clear Street’s mission,” said Kala.
Rolling professional development goals into business goals provides another way for engineers to connect with their company’s mission. Practically speaking, there are also natural opportunities to practice and perfect new skills, too. It’s a two-way street, though, with Clear Street providing Kala financial support for pursuing paid certifications and time during work to develop new skills.
Continue reading to learn more about Kala’s plans to level-up in 2024 and how Clear Street is helping facilitate them.
Clear Street is a fintech company offering a prime brokerage platform to financial institutions of all sizes as well as investment banking services.
What are your big professional goals for the new year?
Founded in 2018, Clear Street is an independent, non-bank prime broker replacing the legacy infrastructure used across capital markets. We’re building a completely cloud-native clearing and custody system, focusing heavily on API-first platforms that can scale to different parts of the market.
In the upcoming year, my primary focus is to attain proficiency in Go. I have spent the majority of my career working with object-oriented programming, predominantly Java, so mastering a new language from scratch is an exciting challenge.
Additionally, I aim to elevate my expertise in distributed event store and stream-processing platforms. Specifically, I would like to become an expert in Kafka. Clear Street’s platform is built on a modern foundation designed around Kafka and tightly integrated into the AWS cloud. Diving deep into the intricacies of the platform will allow me to work more effortlessly on future projects.
What steps or processes do you have for setting professional goals?
I typically follow a structured approach to acquiring new skills and usually begin by delving into books. Once I grasp the foundational concepts, I proceed to practical applications through courses and hands-on labs. Then I revisit my readings or explore additional resources to solidify my understanding. Finally, I will pursue an exam or certification in order to provide myself with a tangible goal.
Clear Street’s goal-setting process starts with firmwide goals, which are broken down into smaller goals for businesses or products, then further defined by teams and finally, individual responsibilities. This well-defined structure helps me identify my personal goals. Typically, I like to focus on concrete milestones and outcomes. When projects involve external stakeholders, I often rely on client satisfaction surveys for qualitative feedback I can use to improve my current projects and set realistic goals for future projects.
What goals have you set in years past, and how do you reflect on your year in review when approaching plans for the future?
This year, I completed the Certified Kubernetes Administrator certificate. I initiated the study process by creating a detailed document outlining the materials and learning milestones. Clear Street paid the certification fees, and my manager and I allocated time for learning within and beyond working hours. By committing to my study plan, I obtained the CKA on my first attempt. Setting smaller milestones helped me to achieve my larger goal.
I reflect on smaller milestones when setting new goals by using past user feedback as a benchmark of success. On upcoming projects, I will reallocate my time and resources to better support areas where I have fallen short and continue to follow proven processes in areas where I have succeeded. Continuous improvement is at the core of my process, ensuring that each goal is approached with strategic awareness and adaptability, fostering an effective and fulfilling professional journey.
Clear Street paid the certification fees, and my manager and I allocated time for learning within and beyond working hours.”
