Like many software engineering students entering bootcamp after one (or more) career(s) later, the big question I’m asked often is this: So, why software engineering?
To that I answer… why not?
Dreaming in the Concrete Jungle
I’d like to say the reason that I chose the road less traveled towards software engineering is because I grew up near the Silicon Valley. Potentially yes, but short answer - nope. My curiosity for technology (and eventually code) started while employed at one of my survivor jobs in New York City. It’s true - it really is the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
Once a Teacher… Forever an Artist…
To give you a little background, I took the safe route after completing my undergraduate degree, and entered into the world of education. I got my elementary teaching degree, and eventually my Masters in Education, and taught in a range of public and private school environments, in both California and New York.
Yet, something was missing.
I found myself hitting a ceiling at each job I encountered. Toward the end of my ten years of teaching, it was thrust upon me to teach and guide the new teachers with the knowledge I had. But I felt there was little growth on my end.
I knew that I could teach (children, or new teachers), but I wanted to learn.I yearned for a challenge. What can I say - I operate on a growth mindset (note: that’s teacher talk).
While teaching, I performed in musical theatre in the evenings and weekends. Eventually, I worked enough in theatre to earn my Actor’s Equity card (hooray!). The change in Equity status led me to pursue acting full time in New York City.
While it is still a dream, working consistently in the arts is tough. And that’s an understatement. In between gigs, it’s crucial to have two, or three, and sometimes four survivor jobs at any given time.
Lucky for me, one of my survivor jobs I stumbled upon was in tech.
Engineering Aspirations
In my tech position, I managed large scales auction events and galas, and helped clients manage guests through a software system. As I learned how to navigate and teach the software to clients, I became more curious about the software, about engineering, and about tech. That curiosity led me to software engineering… because why not?
So to all of you non-traditional, didn’t-go-to-school-for-Computer-Science, maybe-I’m-too-old-for-this prospective engineering students out there… I urge you to ask yourself… why not?