Why I Decided to Become a Software Developer

I hated math.

Not that I was particularly bad at getting the right answer, mind you, but it was so abstract, so arbitrary. Each problem as boring and as meaningless as the last, with the only change being the complexity and its inherit tediousness. Most of my life this was my image of Mathematics, and by extension, programming and computer science. It all held very little interest for me.

So I thought I might become an English teacher, or a marketing major or work somehow in design. I saw those as being in opposition to the idea of math so logically, it should spark my interest. At the end of the day however, all I gained was a lackluster education in business.

With no real direction, I took a job at a local startup, introduced to me by brother. It was a small warehouse and packaging company that seemed to really like bringing me on. I quickly rose to a predominant position, and became in charge of the company’s day to day operation. It was simple and boring work, but promised a steady future. The largest caveat with this company, was its appalling lack or any software tools. Everything, was done manually. Everything was prone to error.

So, out of necessity I looked into how to automate certain key functions of the business. It started off as simple spreadsheet operations, but when that wasn’t enough, I started playing with VBA Code and JavaScript. I would watch hours of Youtube tutorials, ordering in dinner into the office long after business hours, just to get a bit of code right. Before I realized it, I was spending most of my time at work trying to learn to code; not because I was asked to, or even needed to, but because I wanted to. I loved it! It was an act of creation.

Its been two weeks now since I’ve quit my job and started full time studying software development at Flatiron School. It is thrilling! While I’m grateful for my experiences up to now, I can’t help but wonder what my life would be like if I started this path long ago. And I can’t help get excited about my future.