The Doorway of Software Engineering
18 Jan 2024
Opening the Door
Prior to college, I absolutely loved playing video games. It did not matter what it was, it could have been an incredibly beautiful game with an expansive landscape or a game whose graphics were literally just blocks, as long as it was engaging then my eyes would be glued to that screen for the rest of the night. At the time, I had the preconceived idea that “I am always playing video games on my computer anyway, why not just pursue a career that requires me to work at my computer?”
Then on, I didn’t have any strong conflicting feelings to pursue something else when I started learning coding languages in high school. It almost felt as though it was just a fact that I was going to enter the software engineering field. To be honest, I didn’t mind and I actually really enjoyed being able to create something. I loved following the directions of a Lego set, but even more so to not follow those instructions.
Peeking through the Door
My first coding project in high school, where we had to create a fake business website, was a major factor for why I was so certain I wanted to enter the software industry. It was a fantasy-themed bakery store called “Narnia Business” (an extremely funny play on words “None of your Business”), making a user-friendly interface for people wanting to purchase pastries. It was really satisfying seeing other people rate and critique the website highly, but equally as satisfying seeing the work of other people and their thought process of how to cater toward a hypothetical customer.
As a university student getting more and more involved in projects and such, my interest in the software industry has certainly grown. Alongside that, my working with groups of people on projects is always exciting, especially when we all share a common interest. I also joined clubs and competitions centered around solving algorithmic problems and challenges, which consistently reinforces and contributes to my growing enjoyment in software engineering.
First Steps through the Door
As of now, it’s an overall bittersweet experience where I feel like I am learning but at the same time it is a really difficult career path to pursue. These steps take long strides, but it is good to look back and to see how far your footprints have led. I look forward to working on team projects and creating more, whether that would be solutions or something even mildly entertaining. I am still just a second year student so there’s still a long road ahead of me before I graduate, but I can’t wait to learn more. :-)