It’s all my dad’s fault, really. I never pictured becoming a software engineer, even though I was surrounded by computer programming all growing up. I remember a basement office full of thick books with cute animal sketches and funny words, like “Java” and “Lisp”, on their covers. My regular diet of PacMan, Mario, and GameBoy Pokémon adventures was supplemented with computer-generated mazes, Four Square, and human-vs-AI chess, all written by my dad.
He tried teaching 10-year-old me how to program in C++ once. I got bored after a week.
It took a couple more years before I came back to programming on my own, this time to make a fan website about my favorite books series. I just wanted to change the color of the text—I swear! But before I knew what was happening, I was wading through knee-high HTML. And, wouldn’t you know, it was kinda fun.
Entering college, though, I still wasn’t convinced. I chose a Mechanical Engineering major, because math was fun and aerospace sounded cool. Halfway through my degree, I had my first required Computer Science course.
And it was my favorite class.
After that, it didn’t take long to realize that I enjoyed coding more than engineering. Not only was I acing all the classes, but I made up projects for myself to do in my free time, too. I spent the next Christmas break at a Bear Lake condo with my family, curled up in an armchair with my laptop, creating a mini video game for my youngest brother. I was too far into my degree to justify switching majors, so I opted for a Computer Science minor instead.
Now here I am, a software engineer. And I’m loving it. It’s a career that will let me work from home (a high priority for me once I become a mom). It keeps me continually learning, with a new puzzle to solve every day. I love the people I work with and the things I get to create. I didn’t plan this path, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.