Today marks the first week where I am officially a Software Engineering student! (Insert celebratory music). Fittingly, with Covid (and me living in Melbourne, Victoria which currently is in Stage 4 lockdown) university is online.
So a bit about me — I am a second year Engineering and Science Double degree student at Monash University. At Monash all Engineering students must undergo a common first year- here we get a taste of most of the engineering disciplines. The idea is we can then make an educated choice about what specialisation we embark on. A decision which can be quite daunting and overwhelming even when you have a ‘vague’ idea what the various specialisations are about.
For me this decision was quite easy. Why? As I had fallen for Software Engineering. I had come into the course with no interest nor knowledge in programming but with a unit in MATLAB (which is really a scripting language where you can program a calculator) my interest piqued. I began thinking maybe programming is for me and picked up a bit of coding on Codeacademy. Then last semester I completed another unit this time in JavaScript where the main project involved building a Flight Scheduling System in an at times dysfunctional team — and I was sold.
For me there was for me no competition- no late night writing of pros and cons list and callingvarious engineers to hear about their experiences (which many of my friends who grappled with indecision faced). Here is an overview of why I chose software:
1. It is everywhere
Look around you — you are reading this off a computer or phone. You likely have been relying on video conferencing during this pandemic. Perhaps you ordered yourself clothes and groceries online to avoid an unneeded trip to the shops. When you woke up you likely scrolled through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter or got straight onto your emails. Or if you started your day with some exercise you may have tracked it on your smart watch, Strava or hit up some tunes on Spotify or you may have opted for a podcast. Regardless of who you are and what you are doing — if you are living in a first world country you likely spend a lot of time engaging with computers. This means that as a software engineer you have the ability to possibly create change on a scale we previously could never have imagined. This is a pretty awesome and exciting thought. I better start thinking of ideas…
2. It is general
Leading on from the fact computers (and thus software) is everywhere is that software is general. In the sense that I as a software engineer could start off working for a bank working on cyber-security, then a medical start up looking at big data then over to a tech company working on machine learning. You are not tied down to a specific field you can really apply the skills of a software engineer anywhere. Back to point 1- software is everywhere so that means most industries need a software engineer. So not only are you highly employable but you can find your own unique niche or move around as you like.
3. You are constantly learning
I love learning- yes in this sense I am a self proclaimed proud nerd. In software you simply cannot know everything. There are so many different languages — Java, Javascript, Pyhton, Swift, Ruby, C, C++, Go etc. Then there are so many different software specialities/ areas of interest, UI design, web dev, game dev, quality assurance, project managment etc. There is just too much to know and that is okay. This means you do not have to know everything but rather know where to go if you don’t. Google is your friend, your colleagues and teammates offer a wealth of information and when all else fails taking a breather and returning to the code fresh faced works a surprisingly high amount of times. With this in mind you can always improve and you can always grow your skills. Which again is pretty exciting- the journey is constant and with practice you will only get better (and more efficient at searching on Google).
4. Emphasis on teams and communication
I know, I know, the stereotypical coder sits at their desk in the wee hours of the night, has headphones on, multiple screens open, wears a crumpled hoody, has last nights takeaway siting on their desk and is socially awkward. I am sure there are quite a few Software Engineering students like this — I will keep an eye out for them... However- to be a successful and effective Software Engineer you need to be able to communicate proficiently and have a good understanding of others — specifically what your costumer wants and your team needs. You cannot expect not to have interaction with people if you are a software engineer. You will have to work with others and rely on others to get work done- code quickly becomes too complex for single engineer to understand. This means you get to interact with interesting people all the time while build friendships and leadership skills simultaneously.
These are the four main reasons which come to mind when I think about why I chose Software Engineering. This list is by no means complete or absolute. Over the journey I am sure I will find more things I love (and dislike) about software engineering. This is the start of my journey- one I am sure will be filled with highs (finishing a tough project) and lows (yelling at my computer when I cannot understand why it keeps throwing an error). I hope to use Medium semi-regularly to highlight interesting topics, concepts and discuss what is happening in tech.
