Why I didn't have a dream career as a kid, and how I developed an interest in Software Engineering.

Have you ever been asked as a kid what would you love to become in the future?

in school, and sometimes out of school, kids always got asked “what do you want to become in the future?” And more often their answers wouldn’t be more unique than what they see people around them become, or what some of their peers wanted to be. In my case, if I’ve ever had an answer to that question it would be that I know what I do not want to be. I have never wanted to be a medical doctor even when that was the dream of the majority of my peers, not because I had an exceptional talent or because I know what I wanted to be but because, I hated the sight of blood, it sounded funny right?

Yes, I know it would be. I had found joy in reading about everything as a kid. My mum had taught me that if I want to improve my reading skill, I must learn to read every written word that crosses my sight. I would read every billboard on my way to school, I would spend time in the school library reading novels, magazines, and sometimes science journals that I don’t understand. I always got fascinated with stories, poems, and scientific discoveries so much that I found it difficult to view myself as becoming a particular professional either in science or in art.

In the year 2003, I was in junior high school and my elder brother who was in senior high school had got an assignment to be done using Microsoft Office, he took me along to a CyberCafe where he went to use the internet, it was my first encounter with a computer system and the internet. I was fascinated with the idea that I could read about anything on the internet. I started visiting the Cybercafe to read about random topics on the internet, though I didn’t know what exactly I was doing I would later realize I had read extensively on the principle of electronics. I was fascinated with the movement of electrons in a wire and that arose my interest in Physics, I became more focused on understanding basic electronics. At the time, I had no idea about which engineering specialization focused on electronics, neither do I know what software or hardware is and how both are related to electronics. I had taken so much interest in the principle of electronics that I sought admission into the university to major in Physics Electronics. In my sophomore year, I minor a course in computer science “Basic Computer Programming with C language”. It looked weird, boring, and confusing because we were being taught coding theoretically without running any code on the computer.

My love for electronics grew when I began to learn the functions of passive and active electronics components such as resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits. I could remember vividly that, I built my first electronics project “Astable Multivibrator using a combination of resistors, capacitors, light emitting diodes (LEDs), and NPN transistors. I felt on top of the world as I saw it works. My exploration in hardware electronics grew and in my final year, I worked on a project where I constructed a modified sine wave power inverter. I chose a specialization in instrumentation and control as I enjoyed manipulating electronic components to perform a specific function, using the sensitivity of some sensors to measure certain physical and chemical parameters like temperature, humidity, pressure, salinity, conductivity, etc. After graduation, I interned at a company where I was introduced to the embedded system using Arduino MCU. Hence my first encounter with software in controlling hardware devices. Arduino MCU was built with C language, a programming language I had found boring back in school, but seeing its usefulness and functionalities got me fascinated. I quickly realized that to achieve a more interesting project with the manipulation of components, modules, and sensors, using Arduino MCU, there’s a need to understand programming.

Learning to code with Arduino IDE ignited my interest in software engineering, building a simple electronics Bluetooth fan that can be controlled with a mobile app just by writing a few lines of code in the Arduino IDE, compiled, and then copied into a microcontroller IC like Atmega 328 was something intriguing. I began curious about other programming languages. I read extensively about java, javascript, C++, C#, PHP, Python, etc. at this point it became clear to me what I wanted to become - a software engineer that would use code to solve problems and make the hideous task simpler.

Reading indeed does to the brain what exercise does to the body, my obsession with reading had given me the unfair advantage of quickly learning HTML and CSS within 2 months and I had moved on to learn python and Javascript. I have pondered long enough on how active electronics components work like magic and I recently learned about data types in javascript, if statement, while loops among others made me realize that without software, every active electronics components are but an electronics idiot because their functionalities rely on some certain software codes embedded in them. The idea that certain strings of code could form digital products that can revolutionalize the world is beyond my imagination, learning about the Facebook algorithm, Netflix algorithm, and Google data structure and algorithm is mind-blowing. I am currently interning in a software company where I joined a team working to develop a software solution to manage several social media account on a single platform, schedule post, and create content with several inbuilt templates with customizing features. I am one who staunchly believes that software development is the eighth wonder of the world and we are yet to see the extent to which software technology will revolutionize our world.

Do you have a similar experience? or what was that experience that sparked your interest in becoming a software developer/engineer? Let’s engage in the comment section below.