Meet Mohammed Riaad: A Senior Software Engineer

Are you stuck in a job that is not for you and, yet, you are afraid to change anything about it?

Then, you are in the right place.

This is an article about an awesome guy called Mohammed Riaad who stands behind www.mohamedriaad.me. Even though he earned a degree in Finance, he opted for a completely different career – one in software engineering.

Today, this senior software engineer boasts over 10 years of impressive industry experience, proving that taking risks and changing your career on time can be highly rewarding.

What can we learn from Mohammed?

Let’s find out!

Who Is Mohammed Riaad?

Mohammed Riaad is a Senior Software Engineer based in Giza, Egypt. This curious-minded industry professional has an enviable experience in web development. 

“With more than 10 years in web development and working as a developer, I find myself a skilled and intelligent person looking for a better way to accomplish the job in the short term. Fast to learn and can be quickly improvised.” 

Career Change – From Working In Finance To Becoming A Senior Software Engineer

There are so many different reasons why one may want to change careers. This is a deeply personal decision, with so many factors involved, from a better salary to seeking new career opportunities. 

Namely, this successful senior software engineer studied Accounting and Finance for four years at the prestigious Suez Canal University. 

Before he embarked on his software development career, Mohammed worked in the hospitality sector as a tour guide and a front desk cashier. 

How To Pivot Your Career?

The example of Mohammed Riaad, a senior software engineer, proves that it is never too late for you to pivot your career and take up new professional challenges!

However, a career change is a multidimensional process. While there are no one-size-fits-all rules to apply, there are a few steps that will certainly help you in the process. To name a few:

• Access your professional interests, skills, values, and experiences. Think about your past roles, volunteering experiences, and hobbies. 
• Consider alternatives to your current career. Ask yourself whether any alternative careers match your interests. Research various options online and discuss your core values and skills with friends. 
• Read job descriptions to narrow down your list of potential career options. You can find a wealth of information about virtually any job just by googling it. 
• Shadow the professionals performing jobs you are interested in. Many companies provide job shadowing and training opportunities.

What Does It Take To Become A (Senior) Software Engineer?

With a plenitude of online courses available to you at every step, it has never been easier to bridge your current career to your desired professional field. And if you are interested in becoming a (senior) software engineer, I believe it will benefit you to see how Mohammed did it. So, let’s see how this senior software engineer got there!

He took a wide range of intensive online and offline courses, where he learned the fundamentals of web development. During these study programs, Mohammed familiarized himself with different programming languages, development environments, and frameworks. 

Some of the courses he chose were:

• .net and C# programming (The Russian Culture Center) 
• Front-End Development Nanodegree (Udacity and Google)
• Scrum Master (Scrum)
• Front-End Development (EDX by Microsoft)
• Front-End Development (Coursera)
• Cross-Platform Mobile Application (Coursera)
• Web Development (Microsoft)

To Become A (Senior) Software Engineer – Personal Development Matters, Too

Personal development is not something that happens overnight. It represents a process of growing more positive, self-reliant, and stronger both as an individual and a professional. It helps us project our values, passions, and goals more effectively in the workplace and make career decisions more confidently. 

Whether that means improving your soft skills, taking up a new hobby, or learning something you’ve always wanted to, personal development is a continuous process that directly impacts your professional growth. 

Mohammed’s personal growth reflects in his soft skills, such as critical thinking, management capabilities, and strategic planning. 

His language-learning efforts should not be neglected, as well. Namely, did you know that this guy is a genuine polyglot? He speaks four languages – English, Spanish, French, and Italian. This senior software engineer’s language skills allow him to communicate with international clients and meet their expectations more effectively. 

To Become (Senior) Software Engineer – Create A Personal Website

The importance of personal branding is indisputable, particularly in the context of career building in industries like software development. Competition is fierce, and what you need to stand out is a recognizable personal brand. 

While building an extensive online presence on social networking sites is a great starting point, it is usually not enough to get noticed. To make yourself memorable and position yourself as a credible online resource, you need a personal website.

Mohammed uses his personal website to communicate his authenticity and trustworthiness. He carefully selected the skills he wanted to be highlighted on the website and packed them in a format that matched both his personality and his industry.

In addition to his experience, skills, and education, mohamedriaad.me is also a great place for clients to learn about his past projects and hear from his previous clients through their testimonials. 

Building A Career As Senior Software Engineer – How It Is Going

Today, Mohammed Riaad is a senior software engineer, with a decade of active industry experience behind him. He has impressive experience in front-end development, back-end development, WordPress development, and WordPress security.

Some of his software engineering skills include:

• website hosting
• WordPress development
• hosting installation
• HTML
• CSS
• jQuery
• mobile-ready web development 

To enhance his web development knowledge and understand all of its areas, Mohammed also learned the basics of advertising, search engine marketing (SEM), and search engine optimization (SEO).

Mohammed’s Working Experience As Software Engineer

He currently works as a Senior Software Engineer at Sinai University, Egypt. He designs user interfaces via HTML, CSS, Jquery, JS, and asp.net and implements the system logic.

Mohammed also works as a front-end mentor at OpenClassrooms, a web developer mentor at CareerFoundry, and the front-end developer student reviewer at Udacity.

The Projects He Is Most Proud Of

When it comes to projects of this senior software engineer, there’s a lot to be proud of. Let’s name some of Mohammed’s most interesting projects:

• The University Management System is an online system that facilitates student admission and acceptance processes.
• My Reading – a book lending application that makes it easy to browse and borrow books. 
• The Neighborhood Map – provides an accurate listing of restaurants in Cairo.
• The Memory Game – a popular card-matching game

Wrapping Up

The example of Mohammed Riaad, senior software engineer, teaches us that, once you put your fears aside, pursuing a career you’ve always wanted is possible!

Regardless of his degree in Finance, Mohammed dived right into the field of software engineering and stayed there for over 10 years. Today, his projects, programs, and student mentorship are making a real, positive impact.

Mohammed, we could not be happier that you chose .ME as your digital home. Keep going, we believe in you!