What am I doing here?
20 Jan 2022Fast money
If you’ve read my first essay, you’ll notice that my first essay has very little to do with Software Engineering. I was in my 2nd year of Computer Science and I had no idea what was out there.I had been working in the service industry for nearly 4 years and hadn’t set any career goals. Although I had preconceptions about what computer science was going to be like the Software Engineering and the Algorithms and Data structures courses gave me the sudden realization that I’ve gone completely out of my depth. I was nervous, scared, and at that point even doubted my ability to hang with my cohort of fellow undergraduates. For the most part, I just wanted a job that would support me and my parents in the Hawaiʻi’s expensive cost of living climate. But as I got towards the end of my undergraduate degree I began to realize how unprepared I was for entering the job force. It was during my second to last semester in my undergraduate year when I had to make a series of decisions. With the main question being: “What am I doing here?”.
Graduation
It was during that semester where I learned about the Scholarship for Service program. During the information session they mentioned that they would be able to fund my graduate studies and pay a living wage on top of that. They also mentioned that they have semi-annual career fairs for SFS students, to assist students in finding jobs and internships. The only requirement they had was that I would work for a government agency in a cybersecurity capacity. That’s when I focused on locking in my GRE and my Security+ certification. But I still had no idea what I wanted to do. But in my first semester of graduate school I was introduced to the technical side of blockchain. The main concept of a blockchain is the distributed leger. A data structure that is publicly available for all hosts which allows them to perform a consensus algorithm. This was the concept of blockchain that garnered my attention, as it was interesting to see it used as a different security paradigm.
If you're studying something that's already known, is it worth it?
I decided to base my master’s project around the concept of creating a simulated Ethereum network to deploy and test smart contracts. This project would also introduce me to technology that I was unfamiliar with such as Docker. I also got to learn how to use Javascript and Python for writing scripts, and am currently learning Solidity to write simple smart contracts. I’m also learning about other implementations of blockchain technology as well. One such case is the use of smart contracts to store public health records. Another implementation of blockchain technology is to secure the power grid. But outside of blockchain research I want to create tools and research ways that can help keep the energy infrastructure in the USA safe.
Don't use it, you lose it.
Looking at job requirements for government agencies I’m learning that languages such as C++ and Javascript are very prevalent. I’m hoping this class is able to help me with understanding how to use Javascript effectively. I want to be able to comfortably write in Javascript so that way I’m able to create tools and applications. I’m also hoping to re-learn how to use meteor and react. When I first took this class my main thought was “get through it and graduate”. But when I was about to finish my bachelor’s degree I had little to show for it. I now want to use this time to make another web app and add it to my portfolio. I realize I want to use my portfolio to show my growth as a software engineer. Making cool stuff along the way is just a bonus.