An X student who writes code
For me, being a Polytechnique graduate meant an obligation to hold high-level positions, and part of me aspired to that out of a need for recognition.
When you think of the École Polytechnique, you think of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (X1944), Jacques Attali (X1963), or Anne Chopinet (X1972); you might think of Carlos Ghosn (X1974); and you certainly can’t forget Élisabeth Borne (X1981). In short, people of power and influence. We tend to think a little less about the 500 men and women who make up each graduating class and pursue a wide variety of careers.
After all, not everyone is a business leader or a prime minister, and not everyone wants to be, for that matter. Some pursue careers in the humanities, economics, archaeology, the performing arts, film, literature, music, medicine, sports, diplomacy, or entrepreneurship, while still others choose to enter religious orders. This overview provided by Wikipedia will be both informative and enjoyable.
I was unaware of this range of possibilities and the freedom of thought it implies when I entered the school in 2004. For me, being a Polytechnique graduate meant an obligation to hold high office, and part of me aspired to that out of a need for recognition. Deep down, I had a romanticized image of the school and the students who attended it, superhumans far removed from the fallible human being I knew myself to be.
It must be said, we’re put under a bit of pressure when we arrive: “You are the nation’s elite,” I’ve often heard. That phrase, though well-intentioned, long distanced me from what was important to me. What brought me back to myself was moving ever closer to what I love and the people I love, even if it meant not following the most conventional paths—few Polytechnique graduates actually work directly with code, and few practice their profession as freelancers. Is that what’s expected of a Polytechnique graduate? That’s beside the point.
This change took me more than 15 years… 15 years to return to what I’d always loved: code and people (one doesn’t go without the other). 15 years to feel aligned with myself, in harmony, and to no longer be able to tell whether I’m working or having fun. Mountains of questions have vanished, and with them the feeling that I didn’t belong. I didn’t make a major career change by herding goats in the Ardèche, but rather through a series of small changes that, over time, have led to bigger and perhaps more secure ones.
In any case, I am infinitely grateful to the X for what it has given me and the doors it has opened for me. Today, I am “an X who writes code,” a phrase I shamelessly borrow from my friend Stéphane Dalbera 😉