Blog Post #1: Introduction

Hello! My name is Ryan Farol, and this will be my first blog post for CS467. I’m just going to talk a bit about myself and how I ended up at OSU. I’ll also be talking about my future plans after this program.

To start off, I’m 25 years old and living in Los Angeles, CA. My road to become an aspiring software engineer is a bit different compared to other people. I received my previous degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing at University of California, Riverside. Going out of college, it was my dream to work within the film and TV industry by creating marketing campaigns for upcoming releases. My first two jobs started off pretty rough. I was actually laid off both times due to both agencies losing key clients and budget constraints. Since I was merely an entry level employee, I received the short end of the stick. However, my most recent position was, as some would call, my “dream job.” I became an Account Manager for multiple clients and was in charge of creating TV advertisement campaigns for them.

At first, I was ecstatic about the role. Over time, I started to question if this is really what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to pursue something more challenging and thought provoking while being proud of the work I did on a daily basis. All of my closest friends are software engineers, and they pushed me to continue my education in CS. After a month of searching, I stumbled upon OSU’s post-bacc CS program, and the rest is history.

This program has been an amazing experience so far. At the start of the program, I found myself struggling immensely which only pushed me to improve my coding skills. Midway through the program, I became extremely nervous at the thought of job hunting knowing that my experience pales in comparison to other students who have been doing this for the past 4+ years. However, I still kept my head high and continued to trudge through the program. After hundreds of rejections, I finally received an offer as a SWE at an automotive company for their new grad program. So if I can do it, anyone else can!

In terms of my hobbies and interests, I’m a die hard sports fan which includes the Lakers, Rams, Dodgers, and USC football (LET’S GO LA!). I’m also a movie and video game addict. I follow Esports (specifically League of Legends) pretty religiously. I try to stay fit by playing basketball, hiking, and walking. Lastly, I’m also getting married by the end of this year!

Cheers!