Hi! Thanks for checking out my blog. In my first post I’m going to talk about how I became a software engineer.

In 2015 I graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.S. in chemical engineering. I wasn’t particularly thrilled by my choice of major, but decided to stick it out knowing that an engineering degree would afford me some options in my career. Software companies were hiring at the time I was graduating, so that’s where I ended up. I accepted a job to start working at a healthcare IT software company called QGenda as a software consultant.

In my role I was responsible for implementing our software for our customers and managing ongoing maintenance of their usage. Through my first two years I spent countless hours configuring and reconfiguring our web app by clicking buttons, checking boxes, and changing drop-downs. It was grueling work, and when mixed with the stress of maintaining relationships with customers, it made me very unhappy.

Somewhere along that road I was introduced to the magic of Javascript, and how it could be used to automate the work that I was doing. When I realized how many hours could be saved by writing Javascript snippets to automate my repetitive tasks, I was hooked. If there was a possibility that I would have to do some configuration twice, or that someone may have to do the same thing, I would opt to write a Javascript snippet to automate the job. Soon enough, I found myself spending more time writing Javascript than anything else. At this point, I decided it was worthwhile to make this passion my career and purse a degree in computer science.

Three years later I was working for the same company and getting close to completing my B.S. in computer science at Oregon State University. I applied to multiple internships, and ultimately secured an offer for an internship with Amazon. I was ready to leave my job, but when I notified my managers about my plans, they offered a full-time position working as a software engineer at QGenda! I was thrilled and accepted the offer, and that’s where I am working today.

I’m thankful for my journey and the way it showed me my love of programming, and I’m looking forward to all of the opportunities and challenges that await me in my career!