The Switch: Software Engineering
Last summer, in May 2020, I graduated from Sonoma State University with a B.S. in Business Administration. I was happy to have finally finished school , but I was still looking for something more. Business was not a passion of mine. It was a choice I made because I couldn’t decide on what to major in. After graduation I took the time to think about what I really wanted to do as a career and not a major.
The pandemic was in full swing by this time and everything was shutting down. It took a hit on my motivation which, looking back, ultimately prolonged my application to Flatiron school. At the time there was still hope that things would return back to normal by the end of the year. During this period of uncertainty I looked to my peers to see what kind of jobs they were working in. Although a business major can be good because of how broad it is, it also can hinder you for the same reason. You need to know exactly what you want to do with it. One of the hottest positions for business majors is sales so I looked into that. I had never thought of doing sales so I figured why not check it out. Because I had always been interested in tech, I looked to tech sales as an SDR (sales developement representative). For the next few months I sent out applications and interviewed for various companies. Not surprisingly, it did not go well. I did not have the passion, or realistically, the interest in it to land a job. On top of that, I have always been an introvert and realized that I could not play the façade of an extrovert as well as I had thought. Although I knew all of this deep down, I was also put down by all of the rejections.
Now we were deep into the pandemic and after all of these rejections I was once again lost on what to do. One of the reasons I was particularly frustrated from the rejections was that there was nothing I could really do about it. Sales really is a profession that you are either born with the personality for it or not. After some time I began having this thought that whatever I do, I want it to be a skill. More than just a career, I wanted it to be something that I could constantly get better at and do even in my free time that would not feel like an actuall “job”.
As I mentioned earlier, tech was always something that I was interested in. I thought back to my time in community college when i took an intro to computer science course. I remember how fascinated I was by coding but was put off from the major due to the high level of math one had to complete. Nevertheless, I began researching coding and stumbled upon coding bootcamps. This was what I really needed. A sign if you will. It just so happens that I reside in the Bay Area, near the “Tech Hub” of the world. Software engineer would be the perfect career. I would not be evaluated for my personality but for my skills (disregarding management positions). And if I don’t meet the requirements then I could always get better. Always practice more. Coding met the criteria I really wanted from a so called “dream” profession: challenge, which would lead to a feeling of being rewarded, and being paid well. On top of all that, I could do it in my free time to build something of my own.
I ended up picking Flatiron School and am currently on my second week in the five month full time program. Everyday there is a new challenge and everyday I learn something new. I feel like a kid back in elementary school, always excited for the next day. I am glad to take on this journey with other people in my cohort. Coding is very hard to learn in the beginning and being surrounded by other people who also might not understand a concept or topic keeps you from feeling like your the only one. Once i learn JavaScript and Ruby, I plan to teach myself Swift and build an app in my freetime as a personal challenge. With the skills and knowledge I gain from this program I would like to one day build or work on something that will help all of humankind.
