As I near the end of my time in the program here at Oregon State University, I find myself reflecting on how far I have come as a software developer. It was just over two years ago that I chose to work towards a career pivot into this new and challenging field. It’s wild to think that I am so close to completing this degree.

Pivoting to a new field obviously has its challenges. Along with these challenges comes opportunity for growth and self reflection. As I’ve worked through this program I’ve realized that the most challenging part of a career pivot such as this is embracing the fact that, while I’ve been an expert in my previous field for 10+ years, I am truly a novice in this new field. By fully accepting this reality, it has allowed me to put my head down and push relentlessly towards this goal in a way that I didn’t necessarily know was possible.

Over the course of my pursuit of this goal, I’ve been fortunate to land an internship and a return offer from a great company in my area, and I couldn’t be happier. To think all of this has happened in just 2 years still hasn’t fully sunk in.

And here I am, beginning my last first week of the program, all while processing where I came from and where I’m going professionally. I’m very much looking forward to continuing to challenging myself by coming together with a group of unique individuals to build one final full-stack project as a student at here at OSU.