HELLO! My name is Steven Hunt and I’m incredibly close to finishing a post-baccalaureate in computer science. I started in 2015 in this program because I was previously studying biochemistry on-campus at Oregon State and realized that if I were going to endure something as hard as physical chemistry, then I’d prefer to have employment prospects at the end of it. In the middle of doing the old version of CS 362 with the Dominion implementation, I got a job working for a D.C. Beltway tech contractor in quality assurance and lost most of my patience (and time) for all of that.
Fast forward 5 years: I realized my student records were on the cusp of being deleted, and since I only had a few classes left, I’m back to stick a few more feathers in my hat. The funny part about all this is that I did almost no “programming” at that job, and I don’t really have ambitions as a software engineer in particular either.
So… Why am I in Computer Science then?
There’s a whole ecosystem of IT jobs out there that actually ask for a 4-year degree in computer science, and many of them use programming mainly as a support tool. This is the sphere I’m aiming for: the system admins, the network techs, the security engineers. Sitting in a cubicle in a quiet room on an IDE sounds tranquil and I’ve seen first-hand that many of my classmates have an impeccable work ethic and sense of creativity to bring to that environment, but it’s not really where I’m at. In computer science, there’s programming and then there’s “everything else.” I’m the “everything else” guy.
How does that translate to a capstone that will probably be about software engineering?
Software is still relevant, and even more relevant than that is teamwork in a results-based environment. I’ve been developing system admin skills all along with work experience and certification tracks, but I can’t exactly hand over a properly cabled SAN to someone and expect them to come to the conclusion that I can work well with others.
My topical interest that most intersects with software is security, and this is likely the flavor of project I’ll be choosing for my capstone project. While I’m by no means an experienced penetration tester or analyst (yet), I’ve been studying the topic since before my return to the program. The reason for this is that security is inseparable from pretty much any computer science task now. You can’t just make a fun game about driving where players are occasionally turned into toilets without the possibility of RCE, you can’t set up a printer without worrying about a “NOBUS” exploit being used as an attack surface, and you can hardly even get a credit report for a bank loan without someone stealing your life history. It’s a really unfortunate reality that we can’t just digitize our entire economy without digital threats arising, but it can’t be ignored.
That’s about what I have as far as introductions. This class is coming during a rather tumultuous time in my life (of all times for distractions, right?) but I am mentally prepared to meet it head-on and I’m keener than I’ve felt in a long time.
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