| Why Software Engineering? |
Mark Zuckerberg once said, “People don’t care about what you say, they care about what you build.” In our society as it is today, software and technology is essential. So, what is the importance of software in everyday life? Did you check your phone this morning? When you woke up which appliances did you use, and did you drive your car to work? According to RMIT university, there are around 37,761 active software positions open to Australians. This demand proves the complete and utter reliance on technology that society has.
Again, Zuckerberg can be quoted saying, “Find that thing you are super passionate about”. For me it is the endless possibilities that software offers. The ability to influence society in enormous ways. Without the use of software, every single little bit of administration etc. must be done manually and on paper. In review, this will affect many things such as the environment, and thus would be very detrimental to our future, but back to software.
The future is a software programmed one. Numerous experts say that digital life will continue to expand people’s boundaries and opportunities. I will be apart of this as my future and passions parallel. A puzzle, software engineering poses an unanswered call to which no answer will ever be complete. This intrigues me, like a never-ending jigsaw puzzle with alternating patterns and images and ways to fill the space. Zuckerberg explained how “Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission to make the world more open and corrected”, and I think this is what I seek. This compatibility with the majority of the software which make our world go round. I want be involved in what I believe is the biggest addition to our world which mankind will ever create.
During the first few months of learning how to professionally upskill in software engineering I came across many challenges; but who would not. Learning many things from scratch and being the type of person who pushed myself to be ahead in course work, I was always encountering challenges before my peers. I thrive in this environment however, and specifically remember assisting fellow peers when some troubles arose for them that I had already encountered and overcome. This was very rewarding as my hard work paid off and I was able to more effectively practice what I had learnt previously.
Going back to the beginning, my first day of study consisted of an orientation day but at this point I had already covered much of the coming weeks content and had watched the previous class’s orientation video so know what to expect in the coming weeks. A few weeks in and I had expanded on my basic knowledge of the required languages (HTML, CSS and JavaScript) and now knew savvy ways to implement them into my website design. The first move for my website consisted of creating the necessary files, the basic HTML structure and of course setting up the Git repository. I then moved on to develop the website with HTML and CSS and finally some fancy implementations of JavaScript to give it the extra ‘pop’. The final product will become a tool for my personal development. This website will allow potential employers to ascertain my ability and decide on the possible professional impact I may have on their business.
Looking towards the future I want to aim big. Specifically, I will aim for a position within the esteemed ‘Google’ company, founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Page and Brin are computer scientists and internet entrepreneurs. No two tech executives are said to be quite as enigmatic yet private as the google co-founders. What they created will most likely last far into the future and I want to be apart of this. Every software engineer has thought at one time or another about what breaking free and risking entrepreneurship. What will this accomplish? Could I possibly design something to which society becomes reliant on? Something which mirrors the good Google did for society, because after all, Facebook began in a garage.
I am limited only by my imagination.
