My Long Journey to Software Engineering
01 Sep 2023
How It Started
Like many of my peers, I started using the computer from a very young age. Fascinated by the rapid advancement of technology, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in STEM. However, being a first-generation college student and my parents working in non-STEM fields, I was lost at finding which major suits me the most. Not knowing my passion for technology, my family encouraged me to pursue medicine.
Up until my junior year of high school, I spent most of my time in the health academy to learn about human anatomy, forensics, nutrition, and clinical health. Although I enjoyed experiencing the medical field, AP chemistry was a turning point for me. I quickly became dreaded—even terrified—at the thought that I might have to write chemical equations for the rest of my life. I knew I had to change my decision before I suffer myself. So for my senior class registration, I took AP computer science, which ignited my passion for programming. Wanting to learn and experience both software and hardware, I chose computer engineering as my major.
From Computer Engineering to Mechanical Engineering and Back to Computer Engineering
After experiencing two years of college completely online, I found it difficult to stay motivated. Circuits were all simulated and I had a hard time keeping up with online lectures. As a highly introverted person, it was daunting for me to unmute myself during lectures or reach out to other students for help. Afraid that I would not last long in computer engineering, I decided to give mechanical engineering a try.
Spring 2022 was my very first semester on campus. In my mechanical engineering class, I was randomly assigned to a team to build an app-controlled robot that could climb two flights of stairs to retrieve an egg and come back. Having no prior experience in mechanical engineering, I stayed in my comfort zone of working with electrical components. For software development, I had to independently learn object-oriented programming in C++ for the first time to program the Arduino microcontroller. Although difficult, I found joy and excitement in this task. The moment I saw our robot successfully move by my programming, I knew it was time for me to go back to computer engineering. Although many would think it was a waste of time for me to be in mechanical engineering for a semester, which unfortunately pushed back my graduation a semester later than originally expected, I look at it as a valuable experience no other computer engineering major could have experienced.
Where I Am Today
This past summer, I was very fortunate to be a software engineer intern at a local software company, RVCM. There, I worked on my software engineering and team collaboration skills and developed an interest in both frontend and backend engineering. Due to the time constraints, however, I was not able to experience frontend development nor use tools such as React and JavaScript. My hope for ICS 314 is that I will be able to expand my knowledge and skills in these tools and strengthen my professionalism as a software engineer. By the end of the semester, I hope to become a confident software engineer and be able to understand both frontend and backend development. My ultimate goal is to become a competent and professional engineer who can effectively collaborate with others on a team.