People are often perplexed as to why I became a software engineer. Previously in life, I paid my bills by splashing around in some of the most remote locations you can imagine. Endangered species? Check. Irate locals? You bet. Dodging hungry polar bears? Absolutely. With a life that would make a free climber blush, why would I trade in my adventures as a fisheries ecologist for a career immersed in algorithms?
Data, simply put, rules everything. A crucial aspect of science is substantiating your findings. To prove hypotheses, especially in population ecology, statistics are indispensable. A significant portion of my desk work in ecology revolved around using the programming language R to analyze the field data we had collected. My aptitude for working with the program didn’t go unnoticed, as my peers would often seek my assistance. My aptitude and enjoyment with programming was pivotal in my soul search after losing my masters project to political budget cutting (not my first brush with government malarkey, courtesy of government shutdowns). As much as I enjoyed my previous career; that was the final straw. I was tired of sacrificing my own well being for low pay, constant moving for jobs, and falling victim to political climate shifts.
The natural avenue for me to pursue was software engineering. Knowing that I enjoyed R, and the potential for a good career, I found OSU’s postbacc program. I jumped in feet first while working a few different government jobs along the way, and while it has certainly not been easy balancing full time work with school, I came out with a blossoming career in software. I am looking forward to what the future brings, and I am forever grateful that I was able to find this program and pivot early on in my life.
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