1st Gen in Tech

It’s pretty difficult being a first-gen grad from an underrepresented group working in a high-pressure industry/role.

Within the Latino culture, we’re expected to:

- Spend lots of time with family, daily, weekly, etc.

- Excel in school and our careers, so that we don’t disappoint our elders and the sacrifices they made for us

- Get married, buy a house, and have kids in our 20s

And we’re also expected to take the burden off our cousins, parents, and grandparents — when it comes to things like technology, paperwork, or just everyday things that they may not understand or be equipped to do themselves

I think it is difficult because oftentimes, family members don’t fully understand that our jobs aren’t ones that you really “clock out” at a certain time.

If they worked a 9-5 service job for 40 years, then they view the world of work as “once 5 PM hits, you’re off and you spend that time with family”. And anyone reading this who works in a highly competitive or demanding industry knows that just isn’t true most of the time.

I don’t think I’ve mastered this at all. Nor do I think I ever will.

But I have developed a system of habits, rituals, & routines that provide me with more work/life/family/personal harmony.

It still gets really stressful at times, but I think recognizing the situation helps

So then you constantly find yourself either disappointing your family or your job. And the only time that you can make them both happy is when you take that time & energy that you would’ve invested in yourself (to rest, decompress, learn, etc) & give it up to family/work.

I’ve also found it helpful to explain (or trying to explain) to family members what I do for a living, how I work, the industry, schedules, the pressure, and how my self-time is necessary in order to function properly (not get aggravated, short-tempered)

conversely, the family-first culture is beautiful. It’s what keeps us humble, hardworking, down to earth, and empathetic towards others.

I credit a lot of the things that I’ve been able to achieve in my life to the family-oriented environment & love that I received growing up.

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