“Why did you decide to study Software Engineering?”
“Interest can be described as the feeling of wanting to learn or know about something. Passion is a strong feeling of enthusiasm and excitement about something. The key difference between interest and passion lies in their intensity; passion is more intense than interest.”
I chose to pursue a Software Engineering career now, at this moment in time, because after years of doing what I was “interested” in, I finally found a career path that I am truly passionate about. Let me explain…
I am a college graduate that went from working within the field I studied to working in industries totally not related to my college degree. I started out in healthcare then to freight brokerage, then to health insurance, and now a technical support / consultant at a software company.
What brought me to software is that at every job I had, I always gravitated to the software that was being used at that company. I always picked up on how to operate them quickly and was always the one assigned to train new hires on how to use it. I was also always in contact with IT and Support on how to make the systems more user friendly and would report on the features that weren’t functioning as intended. At my current role, I assist our customers with exactly that. I help troubleshoot, test for bugs, and train them on how to use the software effectively to make their jobs easier. I’ve been at this role for almost a year now and I have not lost any motivation to come to work. I truly enjoy what I do, the atmosphere/vibe is unlike I’ve experienced in any other industry I’ve worked in and now I want more. Working so closely with the software I want to do more than just report on what features are not function. I want to fix them and know what is causing them not to work. I want to not only make suggestions on how to make the software more user friendly but I want to build and design it.
I know we are living in odd times with the pandemic but I see it as blessing in disguise. It’s given me the time to assess my career and has given me the time to go back to school to learn a new skills. I’m grateful for the opportunity and will take full advantage. I know it’s not going to be easy but I know the software engineering community is vast and welcoming. It took me awhile to find what I’m truly passionate about but that’s life and I’m thankful for all the opportunities I had in the past that brought me to this point. I’m just glad I was able to recognized it and am now taking the right steps forward.
