Why did I want to pursue Software Development?
My fascination with software, and computers in general, began early on in my childhood. My father had a major interest in computers and networking as a hobby, and so this meant that he would invest in the latest technology that our family could afford at the time of what was part of the personal computer revolution. My older brother and I would spend hours on the Commodore 64 at home, playing games and just digging into it trying to figure out how it works. The latest issue of COMPUTE! would frequently be lying around the house, and we would pour through it, typing in code from the magazine to make our own games. Seeing the game come together was often as exciting as playing the game itself!

This interest would carry on as I would try to play around and innocently hack into the Apple Lisa and Macintosh computers at school. My father, the early adopter, soon had a bulletin board system (BBS) that he would host at home. His BBS was the earliest resemblance of the Internet that I experienced. I was amazed at how it was possible to communicate with others on computers. Eventually with the widespread availability of dialup Internet and the evolution of the Web, I was making my own webpages on GeoCities with the earliest version of HTML at 56kbps!

I could share many other childhood memories, but in short, what interests me most about software development is that it is how I can provide a creative, logical solution to a problem of any scale, thereby improving my life and the lives of others in countless ways. The fact that it remains a high paying career field with a lot of flexibility provided through remote work just makes it even more an ideal path to me!

What led me here?
While my journey to software development is full of many positive memories, my journey to Flatiron School itself is a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Prior to applying to this program, I applied (and was declined) three different times at Amazon Technical Academy, which is an internal upskill program for training non-tech roles into becoming software development engineers. The program does not share any feedback for what you need to improve on, so each time I felt a bit lost as to what I am doing wrong.

If that sounds rough, just consider that prior to that, I graduated from college with a degree in Application Development! Several setbacks in my personal life made it incredibly challenging to go through the grind of applying for jobs at the time. I simply wasn't in the right place for whiteboard interview prep, and right about that time was also when the COVID-19 pandemic began. My focus shifted to making sure I could cover my living expenses with my position at the fulfillment center.

Ironically, being engrossed in non-tech work led me back to software development as I gradually discovered some flaws and shortcomings in the warehouse management software we use at my site. I dusted off Visual Studio Code to write some custom Tampermonkey scripts using JavaScript to improve the functionality of this software, and several of them have proven extremely useful and have been shared network wide. My biggest lesson? Keep grinding!

I had previously heard about Flatiron School's in-person programs, but it was by a random Google search that I discovered its online Amazon Career Choice program. This program is giving me the opportunity to review (and relearn!) many of the topics I covered while completing my bachelor's degree.

Where do I want to go with software development?
My hope is that living in the Greater Seattle Area will give me access to a lot of entry level positions. Of course, it only makes sense to apply to internal roles at Amazon, but there are so many other interesting opportunities here, whether at major companies or startups. My primary focus is on gaining an exceptional understanding of the fundamentals of software development. As I mentioned earlier, I've been getting my feet wet with software development since I was very young, and the time has come for me to enter the water and swim!