You’re working on your master’s, right?

I had a coffee chat with another OSU Post-Bacc student and found one thing that we agreed on. Doing a second bachelor’s degree is not only unusual, but everyone in your relationship circle is convinced you are working on your master’s degree. A few years ago, I was researching strategies to get into software development. Everyone had their own story and it ranged from being hired due to their own merits, bootcamps, to getting a CS degree. With the luck of Google (or good search optimization), I landed on a bright orange page. I skimmed it and got excited. Another Bachelor’s degree with only CS courses required? Fully online? Based in the Pacific Northwest where I lived? As cheesy as it sounds, it was like I found a program that suited me.

When I enrolled, I informed my family, and the reactions were what one would expect. “Why not a Master’s degree?” “Don’t you already work in computers (in reference to my helpdesk job)?” “Can you fix my computer?” In truth, like many other students in this program, I was enrolling with hopes and dreams that may or may not come true. Have I just been influenced by society telling me to learn to code? Am I just motivated by the potential for money? Will this be a waste of time when we reach Dot-com Bubble Part 2?

Coming to the end of this program, I have come to reflect on what have I gained. I do know a few things. I do enjoy working with computers and programming. While I would not say I am obsessed with it and live in a server closet, I enjoyed this program enough to complete it. I never created a for/while loop prior to joining OSU and going from that to building a full stack application was a big leap for me. In addition, I did things that the introverted, younger me of the past would have never done in my first degree. I attended career fairs, hackathons, networked with other OSU students, and applied for internships. I still struggle with social anxiety, but I became a reborn student in some ways. I now understand there is a soft value in a degree program that is not necessarily placed in the academic content itself.

Capstone Update

In this phase of the project, I have come to realize there are so many things I could add. It reminds me of my art classes. I never felt like any of my paintings were ‘done’. However, it is almost time to put a frame, and set it on the stage for everyone to see. My group has been great and I enjoy working with them. I have come to appreciate the variety of people that have joined the Post-Bacc program. My team member, Tim, has recently started working as a backend developer and he still is managing to learn concepts from his job as well as elements of our project. My other team member, Bruce, had to work overtime to train a new employee as well as spend time with his children while managing to put time into the mobile portion of the project. I don’t know if they read my blog but I am very appreciative of their work. We all have crazy schedules at times but it shows how determined many people in this program are. In the future, if I ever have hiring influence (hahaha), I will look into the OSU alumni network for sure!

Thank you everyone!