This is my first ever blog post… I think, as first post, and specifically one for my Capstone, I will talk about my journey to the end of my time at OSU.
2015 – 2019
In 2015, I began my college journey at the University of Washington, my first choice school in Seattle. At the time, I had no idea what I wanted to pursue as a career and felt lost. The only guidance I had was, “You have to go to college.” This led me to explore various fields of study, such as Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Astronomy, Environmental Studies, Architecture, and Chemistry. Without a clear career goal, I floundered so much that I was in danger of being prohibited from registering for further classes unless I declared a major.
I eventually settled on Applied Physics. I had taken several Physics courses and found that I enjoyed the subject and was good at it. It seemed like the path of least resistance (See? Physics.) for me. I particularly found Electromagnetism to be fascinating if you couldn’t tell.
While studying Physics, I had the opportunity to learn about programming through classes in assembly language and MATLAB. That exposure motivated me to learn Python on my own for fun. Looking back on the programs I made during that time, I can see how much I have progressed since then.
I graduated from the University of Washington in December 2019 with an Applied Physics degree but was uncertain about my next steps.
2019 – 2021
After graduating, the world was on the brink of shutting down due to Covid and I hadn’t considered applying for jobs while I was still in school or even what jobs would be a good fit for me. As a result, I found myself without a job as the shutdown began.
The shutdown made it difficult to find any kind of work, so I moved back home and applied for any job that I was somewhat qualified for, with little success. I even tried temp agencies but still had no luck. I was considering becoming a professional couch potato, but I knew that wouldn’t pay the bills.
I eventually realized that my Applied Physics degree may not have been the best fit for me and began exploring other options. I applied to a graduate program in Electrical Engineering at a CSU, as I had enjoyed Electromagnetism during my Physics studies. However, after trying it out, I quickly realized that this path wasn’t for me either. But it did push me in the direction of finding something I enjoyed: coding. I researched how I could make a career out of programming and found OSU’s post-bacc program.
2021 – Present
I started OSU’s post-bacc program in January 2021. I was learning a lot and thoroughly enjoyed everything I was studying. I landed an internship as a Data Engineer in November 2021 and am now nearing the end of the program with a great job opportunity lined up at Capital One as a Software Engineer. After years of searching, I finally found my dream career in the field of Computer Science.
Take Away
My journey of discovering my passion and career path was filled with lots of twists and turns, like a winding road with many forks. Each fork represented a new opportunity and a new path to explore.
It was a challenging and sometimes frustrating experience, but it taught me valuable lessons and gave me the opportunity to learn new skills and discover my interests.
Thanks for reading my stream of consciousness and be ready for the next one!
