The Most Valuable Thing I Found in Tech Wasn't an Opportunity

TL;DR

As an international student in the United States, I joined tech communities hoping to find internships, mentors, resources, and opportunities.

I found all of those things.

But I also found something I wasn't looking for: belonging.

From Rewriting the Code, Mentor Me Collective, CodePath, Girls Who Code events, Boba Talks, SheFi, local meetups, and later DEV Community, these spaces became much more than professional networks. They became places where I learned, grew, found support, and met people who continue to be part of my life even after moving back to India.

This article is about how communities shaped my journey, why I believe nobody builds a career alone, and why finding your people may be just as important as finding your next opportunity.

Why I Joined Tech Communities
The Loneliness Nobody Talks About
More Than Networking
The Hidden Value of Community
Leaving Didn't End It
From Reading to Participating
The Best Decision I Made
I'd Love to Hear Your Story

Why I Joined Tech Communities

Some of the opportunities that changed my life came from communities.

But years later, those opportunities aren't what I remember most.

When I first joined tech communities, I had a practical goal: I wanted opportunities. Like many students and early-career professionals, I was looking for internships, mentors, advice, and ways to grow. Everyone told me networking was important, so I started showing up. I attended events, introduced myself to people, joined programs, and tried to learn from those who were further along in their journeys.

During my time in the United States, I became involved with communities like Rewriting the Code, Mentor Me Collective, CodePath, Girls Who Code events, Boba Talks, SheFi, local tech meetups, and various online groups.

At first, I treated them like resources. They were places where I could learn something new, discover opportunities, and hopefully move one step closer to my goals.

What I didn't realize was that they would eventually become something much bigger.

The Loneliness Nobody Talks About

Moving away from home teaches you things that no career advice article prepares you for.

You can be surrounded by people and still feel alone. You can be busy every day and still miss home. You can be doing everything "right" and still feel disconnected.

As an international student in the United States, there were moments when I missed home intensely. Not just the place itself, but the feeling, the familiarity, and the sense that you belonged somewhere without having to explain yourself.

What surprised me was that I started finding pieces of that feeling inside tech communities.

It wasn't because everyone had the same story. They didn't. But many people understood what it felt like to be figuring things out.

We were navigating uncertainty, trying new things, building careers, and learning who we wanted to become. The details were different for each of us, but the feeling was familiar.

For the first time, I realized that community wasn't only about professional growth. Sometimes it was simply about knowing that other people understood the challenges you were facing.

More Than Networking

The funny thing is that networking was never the part I remember most.

What stayed with me were the people: the mentor who took time to answer questions when they didn't have to, the community members who celebrated small wins, the conversations after events, the encouragement during difficult moments, and the people who remembered my name months later.

Nobody puts those things on a resume, yet they matter enormously.

When people talk about communities, they often focus on outcomes such as internships, jobs, referrals, and opportunities. Those things absolutely matter, and many communities helped me find them.

But they aren't the whole story.

The people behind those opportunities are what make communities special.

Looking back, the opportunities opened doors. The relationships made me want to keep walking through them.

The Hidden Value of Community

People often talk about communities in terms of what they can help you achieve.

And yes, communities can help you find internships, jobs, mentors, collaborators, and friends.

But I think the most valuable thing they offer is something harder to measure.

Perspective.

When you're struggling alone, every problem feels unique. Every setback feels personal. Every uncertainty feels like something only you are experiencing.

Inside a community, you begin to realize that's rarely true.

Someone else struggled with imposter syndrome, someone else felt lost, someone else changed careers, and someone else kept going anyway despite doubting themselves.

There is comfort in realizing you're not the only person trying to figure things out.

Sometimes the biggest gift a community gives you isn't an opportunity.

It's the reminder that you're not alone.

Leaving Didn't End It

Today, I'm back in India, yet some of the people who encouraged me when I was thousands of miles away from home are still part of my life. Many of the people I met during my journey in the United States now live in different cities, states, and even countries, but the connections remain. We still talk, celebrate each other's successes, share opportunities, and support one another despite the distance.

That's when I realized something important: a real community isn't defined by geography. It's defined by people.

The relationships didn't disappear when I boarded a flight. The support didn't stop when I changed time zones. If anything, those connections taught me that communities aren't simply places you go.

They're people you carry with you.

From Reading to Participating

After returning to India, I found another community through DEV.

For a long time, I was mostly a quiet observer. I read far more than I wrote. I'd browse articles, learn from discussions, and admire the people who seemed confident enough to share their thoughts publicly.

To be honest, I was intimidated. I worried that I didn't have enough experience, that my thoughts weren't interesting enough, or that I'd say something wrong. So I stayed on the sidelines for a while.

And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Not everyone participates in a community the same way. Sometimes showing up and reading is enough. Sometimes learning quietly is enough. Even today, I value silent readers because I've been one myself.

But over time, I started leaving comments. Then I started sharing thoughts. Then I started writing. Little by little, the community started feeling less like a place I visited and more like a place where I belonged.

As I became more involved, I started thinking about what I could contribute back. One thing kept coming back to me: throughout my own journey, I had missed opportunities simply because I found out about them too late. Sometimes I discovered internships after applications had already closed. Sometimes I heard about programs months after they happened. Sometimes I learned about scholarships only because someone happened to mention them in passing.

The opportunity itself was rarely the problem.

Access to information was.

Looking back, many of the opportunities that shaped my journey came from communities. A mentor forwarded an application. Someone shared a scholarship. Someone else posted a fellowship deadline at exactly the right moment. Those experiences made me realize that opportunities are often available, but they don't help much if people never hear about them.

That realization eventually became Dev Opportunity Radar, a series where I share internships, fellowships, scholarships, programs, and other opportunities that might help someone else on their journey.

When I published the first edition, I wasn't sure if anyone would find it useful. I just knew that if it helped even one person avoid missing an opportunity the way I had, it would be worth it.

Then something small happened that meant a lot to me. In the second edition, a community member submitted a Community Find that I was able to include. Another person reached out to tell me they had discovered and applied for an opportunity through the Radar.

Objectively, those are small moments. But to me, they meant everything because they showed that the series wasn't just a list of links anymore. It had actually helped someone.

That single message became all the motivation I needed to keep working on Edition 3. More importantly, it reminded me that community isn't always built through big gestures. Sometimes it's built one comment, one contribution, and one shared opportunity at a time.

The opportunities matter, but what stays with me most is something else entirely: a group of people who didn't have to help each other choosing to do so anyway.

In a world that can often feel disconnected, that's something I don't take for granted.

The Best Decision I Made

I've spent years learning programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools.

Some of them are no longer popular. Some have changed dramatically since I first learned them. Others have disappeared entirely.

The communities stayed.

Looking back, the best decision I made wasn't choosing a particular technology stack or learning a specific framework. It was deciding to show up. It was attending events even when I felt nervous, asking questions when I thought they might be obvious, volunteering when I wasn't sure I had enough experience, and slowly becoming part of something larger than myself.

When I first joined communities, I was looking for opportunities. I hoped to find internships, scholarships, fellowships, mentors, and career advice.

And I did.

But what I found was something even more valuable: belonging.

Years later, I don't remember every workshop I attended, every presentation I watched, or every event I signed up for. What I remember is how people made me feel. I remember feeling welcomed when I was new. I remember feeling encouraged when I doubted myself. I remember feeling supported during difficult moments and reminded that I wasn't figuring everything out alone.

Many of those relationships still exist today. Even after moving back to India, I stay connected with people I met through these communities. They're people I continue learning from, people whose successes I celebrate, and people who continue to inspire me through different stages of life and career.

Maybe that's the real value of community.

It's not just that it opens doors for us.

It's that, eventually, it gives us the chance to hold a door open for someone else.

If there's one thing I would tell anyone early in their journey, it's this:

Don't just learn technologies. Find your people.

Technologies change. Frameworks change. Job titles change. Sometimes even countries change.

But the people who believe in you, encourage you, and help you grow can stay with you for years.

That's what communities gave me.

And years later, across different countries, different chapters of life, and different stages of my career, joining them remains one of the best decisions I've ever made.