Why do I want to learn software engineering? To be a software engineer.
Why do I want to be a software engineer? That needs a bit more of an answer.
Really, most choices in life are a result of what a person is exposed to. People like the genre of music they listen to the most. If a person is exposed to the value of hard work, there’s e a good chance they’ll take to it and end up with one of the most valuable qualities a person can have. As I was growing up I was lucky enough to be exposed not only to hard work, but also to people with careers in software engineering. Those people seemed like some of the luckiest people I knew. And they remain some of the most fortunate people I know. They get to work interesting jobs creating things. Because of their skills, they can find a job in any part of the country (or world) they’d like. What more could a person ask for? Those opportunities appealed to me.
The exposure I got to people working as software engineers primed me to look towards a career in the field. Dipping my toe into coding made me decide to pursue the work. I’ve always liked to examine mechanical things, but never knew I could examine how software works. Taking things apart and looking at “what makes them tick” is great, but these days most things don’t tick. The spring and gear movements of the past have largely been replaced by computers. So the ability to use a computer to discover how the software we use works, and to even make some myself is a joy.
And the best thing is how accessible software is. Computers are ubiquitous in the US. Designing, prototyping and making software has little barrier to entry. Any machine in a machine shop weighs at least 300 pounds and has a specific job. A computers weight can be measured in ounces and it can run an essentially infinite different number of programs.
Now that I’m presented with the opportunity to work towards a career doing something interesting while making a living, I am eager take it. It’s my goal to complete my software engineering course at Flatiron and to go on to a career in software engineering. I want to work on projects that impact the world, however big or small.
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