Times goes by really fast, and I find myself at the final stage of the OSU computer science post-bacc program. I am writing to reflect how I started and ended up joining the program and challenges I faced during the program.
I began my journey while working as a program management staff in the automobile industry. Although my role was in program management, I lacked experience and wasn’t technically qualified the position. My responsibilities involved attending many meetings with engineering teams from both my company and customers.
Despite not having an engineering background, understanding technical discussions wasn’t crucial for my role at that time because my co-workers understand that I was new and learning. My main focus was on grasping how projects were progressing and learning any hindering factors at each stage. This limitation, however, was frustrating, as I felt left out of discussions that only those with technical knowledge could truly enjoy. Not only this, I also saw limited opportunities for growth. Frustrated with theses circumstances, I made the decision to transition into an engineering role. This was a very hard decision because all of my co-workers and my boss were nice, and the salary and the benefits provided by the company were better than what my position offered. I chose computer science, not mechanical engineering, because as a hobby, I had been learning Python.
The early stages of the program went smoothly, with the initial courses begin relatively easy. However, around halfway through the program, I found myself confounded when creating my first web application. Back then, the Web Development course used the XMLHttPRequest API. I am sure the course is revamped and utilize the Fetch API now. I even struggled to understand what Promises were and their purpose. Later, I finally grasp these concepts. One thing I learned from this was that I had a hard time understanding it because I tried to relate it to something that I learned in the past — simply put, I thought too much.
After the last course, I dedicated myself to backend development for the rest of the program. Finally, after I learned about programming the REST API and reviewing data structures and algorithms to prepare technical interviews, I decided my path. I am currently aiming to become a full-stack web application developer. Even thought my initial thought on the industry is naïve, as I continue to learn and dedicate my life to computer science, it keeps me engaged. Now, I find myself fond of this field more than I initially felt. I want to delve even deeper, and all I need now is to successfully complete the capstone project and begin my real-life journey in the industry.