My Journey of Becoming A Software Engineer: Why did I decide to study SE?
It all started when I was in my preschool years, my father was multifaceted person and one of his skills happened to be working on computers in the 90’s. I used so sit next to him and watch everything he did, afterwards he’d let me use the computer to play my favorite games on Cartoon Network. One day he wasn’t home I decided to turn on the computer and log onto his AOL account, my mom heard the infamous AOL dial up and came to check what the noise was and she saw me logging in. She told my dad when he came home and he asked me to show him exactly what I did. I showed him and he couldn’t believe it, I was about 3 years old at the time. Ever since I’ve always had a decent knowledge on computers.
Fast forwarding to 2013, the movie “The Internship” came out about 2 guys working for Google. When I saw that movie it popped into my head that THAT was it… that’s the career I should be in. Then in 2015 when I graduated high school, I started pursuing that dream taking Programming classes at Nassau Community College, NY; but life happened and I moved from Long Island to Queens. I wasn’t able to afford my tuition and the commute for college. So I dropped out. I was naive and figured I can navigate my way through life without that. I gave up on the dream and paid attention to what my reality was.
In 2019, I moved back to Long Island and I learned I can’t have the quality of life I’d always pictured myself to have without having a real career. So I changed my direction in tech and started self-studying for my COMPTIA certifications in IT. I studied for about 6 months going into 2020. Then COVID-19 happened. I wasn’t satisfied with where an IT career would take me and I had thoughts of going back to where I started with pursuing Software Engineering. I felt defeated because I didn’t want to go back to college and especially during a pandemic there’s no way I’d still be able to pay for it. So I searched on Youtube and heard about coding bootcamps and self-teaching. I used Udacity’s Nanodegree program to study HTML, CSS, bash & Python, as well as FreeCodeAcademy for HTML & CSS. I then did my research on bootcamps and Flatiron School was the main bootcamp I found most accommodating to my needs. And the overall reputation and community feedback I’ve heard from students is what made me make the decision of enrolling to Flatiron School. These types of bootcamps give people chances to have a life that was once so far out of reach.
Two days ago was my first day starting Flatiron School and I don’t regret my decision not one bit. I’m so excited for this journey of doing what I always knew I loved and would be good at. This is my moment that my life changes for the better and I’m prepared for the good, the bad, and the better.
