Why I joined Moov: Devin Beliveau

Like a lot of pre-internet kids, when I got to high school, I didn’t see how anything related to computers could become an actual career. It all felt like a hobby—and, if we’re being honest, a hobby where girls were not particularly welcome. I ended up going to school for writing, and then promptly ignored my degree after graduation.

While I did work in a technology-focused job after college, it wasn’t very fulfilling. After almost a decade in a mostly dead-end job in Boston, I had a quarter-life crisis, sold everything that didn’t fit in my Volvo, and headed west. There’s something uniquely American about the romanticization of heading west, and as I watched the landscape turn from rocky coasts and traffic to flat plains (and also traffic) to majestic mountains (and also still traffic), I finally understood what John Denver was singing about. I didn’t have a plan, but figured if I ended up in another dead-end job, I’d at least have a change of scenery.

I spent a glorious few years in the fast-growing Denver tech scene. After weighing a few options, I attended a frontend engineering program. I liked that frontend development was UI/UX focused, and JavaScript seemed like the wild west of programming languages. After the program ended, I was lucky enough to get a job offer in Amsterdam. I spent a wonderful three years working as a frontend developer and exploring Europe. But as the-virus-that-shall-not-be-named disturbed all manner of life, I decided to re-evaluate what I wanted out of my career… again.

I decided to combine my experience as an engineer with the degree in writing that I’d been ignoring. I found my way into writing technical content and developer documentation—and I absolutely loved it.

I loved the challenge of becoming an expert on the products I wrote about. I got really good at both filling in information gaps and also getting the right content in front of the right people to solve their specific issues. It was complicated and hard work at times, but writing for developers was really fun for me. Eventually, I decided I wanted to work where I could be as excited about the product as I was about the writing.

I’m also very passionate about all things open-source, so finding a company that fostered open source communities was high on my list. I tailored my LinkedIn job notifications to that end and eventually the algorithm revealed Moov to me. Not only has Moov built an open source community where fintech builders can collaborate and solve problems—but its origin story is all about the founder deciding to share a wealth of fintech development resources. It’s a huge and amazing community that I’m excited to get more involved in as I grow at Moov.

A little selfishly, I like that Moov is still a small company. As an ex-developer with a degree in writing, I understand the need for clear, accessible, and well-designed docs—but I also bring more than just writing chops to my role. The small size of our team gives me the chance to flex my frontend muscles too, making UI and UX changes to our docs site. I also get to draw on my past experiences from the other side of the docs—helping solve organizational and structural challenges while our quickly growing docs site is still relatively small.

And I think the above goes for everything we’re doing.

We can do it because we’re still small—and because we’re all about trusting and empowering each other to think creatively and autonomously. The culture here is unlike that of anywhere else I’ve been.

Now that I’ve changed career paths—twice—I’ve come to realize that writing developer documentation is where I really feel at home—and so is Moov. I’m excited to be in the thick of things, learning all there is about fintech in an environment that enables me to grow myself and my career. It’s been said by some that the docs are the product. If that’s true, then I get to produce something that’s truly and tangibly impacting the payments industry. That feels pretty great.

These are the reasons why I joined Moov, and why you should too.