If I had to pinpoint a time when my interest in computers began, I’d be hard-pressed to because it feels as though it’s always been in my life in some capacity. I remember spending time on my first computer, the kind with a matte grey plastic tower and boxy monitor. I have memories of learning how to play minesweeper and how to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. In high school, I ended up taking a number of courses related to web and graphic design. All the while gaming with my friends!
But I did not start to program in earnest until my first undergraduate degree, which is where my curiosity for programming and eventually computer science began to blossom. We had been working with Excel macros done in VBA to implement numerical methods to solve various mathematical and engineering-related problems. An uncomfortable and strange environment to get what I would consider my first serious exposure to programming involving logic and debugging. It was difficult more often than not. But I always appreciated being challenged because I knew that was when growth had opportunity to happen. That was one of the most hard-earned and satisfying B’s I’ve gotten! But my focus was on getting my engineering undergrad and not on exploring this new and interesting skill.
So I came back to programming two years later, in 2017. At the same time, I coincidentally came back to numerical methods. I had to take another course on the topic in grad school and this time we were doing our assignments in Matlab. I think it was a combination of Matlab’s simplified, almost Pythonic syntax (especially when compared to VBA) that made this second encounter much more enjoyable. My graduating project therefore had a Matlab-based component to it. But it wasn’t a project on anything related to computer science. Even though I had gained confidence in my abilities and had enjoyed the process of doing so significantly, I instead found work as a Project Engineer in the field of construction management. Totally cool gig, albeit with difficult hours and other demands at times. But as I mentioned before, being challenged is just more opportunity to become better. One of the ways I became better is I took stock of whether or not the kind of career I’d have in engineering is something that I would like for life. It was a difficult decision because of the years I had spent getting educated in engineering. But ultimately I decided it that this was a sunk-cost fallacy, and that assessment has been only validated ever since.
This decision is what led me into my pursuit of a computer science degree, with myself being accepted into OSU’s program in 2019 and starting courses in January 2020. My previous exposures while limited had left an impression on me that this could be something I would be both good at and enjoy. The enjoyment, in part, came from the appreciation of the inherent potential for endless learning that computer science and programming could afford.
Over the course of my time in this program, through my exposure to different topics and technologies, I further narrowed down the field that I wanted to pursue: data and analysis. I began to self-teach myself in these topics while completing courses and was able to leverage that into a new job as a Business Analyst. This current role is much more in-line with what I had envisioned myself doing and I appreciate computer science for affording me such a change. It feels like it’s been a long while getting here but I realize the journey is really only still beginning and I’m looking forward to the experience of capstone in turn!
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