I am currently enrolled in the Flatiron School’s software engineering program, and if all goes according to plan, I will be a software engineer at the conclusion. But why did I choose this path? There a several reasons that ultimately made the decision a “no-brainer”:
1. It is interesting.
A mere interest does not necessarily make a career. I think cats are interesting animals, yet I am not pursuing veterinary science or zoology. That is not to say I may not find enjoyment in those fields, or any number of other fields that are related to interests of mine, but rather that simply saying software engineering is “interesting” does not do my interest in the subject justice. Perhaps a better choice of words would be that “I find software engineering fascinating.
The abilities of computers have held my interest like no other for as long as I can remember. My family first obtained a computer on Christmas 1991, and though I was only 2.5 years old at the time and don’t remember actually getting it, that Apple IIGS machine was a staple of my childhood. My parents and siblings (all older) always joked about how despite my young age, I was by far the most interested of the 4 children in the computer on that Christmas morning, taking turns sitting on all of their laps as they used it and absorbing knowledge.
My interest in computers continued to grow as I did, and when I first learned about computer programming around age 11, my feelings are can easily be represented in meme format:
I quickly borrowed a book on C++ from the public library, which was way over my head at the time as it was not written for kids, but I was able to find a few simple successes, such as the famous “Hello World!”.
Upon reaching High School, I was fortunate enough that my school offered computer science as an elective, and I was able to take it in 10th through 12th grade. Upon enrolling in college, my intention was to be a Computer Science major, however my college experience was not initially a successful one, for various reasons, and I ultimately withdrew before completing the pre-requisites and officially declaring my major.
At this point, my life journey took me in several directions, none of which had room for my interest in programming unfortunately. After several years and multiple different jobs, I eventually returned to school and completed a degree in Information Technology, which did give me some opportunity to once again brush up against coding. You could say the spark was re-ignited here, and while I did not begin pursuing software engineering again, the fascination was still there, and after some forays into self-teaching, and encounters with writing very small snippets of code in my career, the spark has regrown into the raging fire of fascination once more, and I have come to Flatiron to obtain the skills necessary to finally be able to pursue what is truly my greatest interest.
2. It is challenging.
Coding is challenging, at times even outright frustrating, and to me that is one of the biggest draws. I have always loved puzzles, logic, and problem solving, and programming is a never ending series of these things. Additionally the journey to obtain the knowledge necessary to practice the craft does not end when schooling is complete and you have a job, it is a vocation that requires a lifetime of learning. One must always be open to learning not only new languages/technologies as they emerge so as to keep their skills relevant, but must also be willing to receive insights and techniques from those around you and integrate them into your own skill set.
Often in programming there is more than one way to accomplish a goal, and sometimes more than one of those approaches is perfectly viable and efficient. I feel it is one of the few fields where you can have the answer, and still have plenty to learn on a specific topic. The combination of both the day to day challenge of the specific task at hand, combined with the lifetime challenge of the field itself only makes me more excited to take it on, as I have never been one to maintain interest in something that is “easy”.
3. It is rewarding.
Yes, software engineering may be challenging, but that also means it is rewarding. There is no better feeling than when you finally come up with a solution to a problem, or figure out a way to account for that pesky edge case that prevents your program for being a complete solution, or even just finally hunt down and fix the bug that has been throwing error messages in your face all day. Additionally it satisfies the intrinsic desire to have one’s work be meaningful. At the end of the day (or week, month, year, however long the development cycle may be) there is a real, tangible product that exists as a result of your work. Not only can you go forth and use it yourself, but you can see other people using it, and know that the fruits of your labor are serving a purpose. The constant small scale rewards of individual solutions coupled with the large scale rewards of seeing the results of the work lets me know that I will be able to have a long and satisfying career in the field.
4. It affords me the opportunity to pursue one of my greatest passions.
There are many fields of software engineering, and I will ultimately be happy practicing the craft in any one of them, however, my true dream job is to be a game developer. My interest in computers is widespread, and I enjoy the many applications of their use, but the same thing that captured my attention almost 29 years ago on Christmas morning still serves as one of my greatest passions - video games. I enjoy playing them, watching them, reading and learning about their development, and eventually I wish to enjoy being a part of that process as well. The video game industry brings endless hours of enjoyment to people everyday, helps people de-stress, can serve as a competitive outlet, and for some affords them an escape from the unfortunately harsh realities of their life. To be able to help deliver that to people, to be a part of making truly interactive entertainment, and to help create the medium in which often great stories are told, is truly my dream job, and that is why I am going to be a software engineer.