My interests in Software Engineering begins with the endless possibilities of what apps can accomplish. Along with what smartphones are capable of nowadays, app development can be a very powerful force to be reckoned with. The thing that really amazes me is that I used to dream of the day that I could have a portable gaming console (that is backlit) that I could take with me anywhere so I could play my favorite game on demand. I used to have a regular Gameboy (the thick grey one with the yellow LCD screen), and now I compare it to the iPhone 6. Now I can play video games, see where I am in the world (GPS), organize my shopping list, edit videos, keep track of my calories, and the list goes on and on. It is so crazy how far and how fast technology has changed. What sparked my interest about Software Engineering is when I took a step back and analyzed what exactly it is we are engineering. We are usually creating software that is making some kind of task easier or simpler, therefore directly impacting individual’s lives. In a sense, we are engineering software to make lives easier, and that is very interesting to me.
The fact that creativity pays off in this field is also what sparked my interest in Software Engineering. I am the type of person that has a billion and one games to play with a bottle cap, a cup, and a rubberband. I am looking to gain the technical knowledge and programming experience to put my ideas into motion. I view developing apps as starting new businesses, only with less sacrifice and more opportunity to gain. I want to develop apps for both the iOS and Android platforms. I desire the skills and knowledge of being able to lay down the skeletal frameworks of these apps easily and quickly, therefore leaving the creative meat of each unique app left for the moajority of time and energy put in to the project. One of the main things that I am looking to figure out is which languages will be the best to accomplish the goals that I have, and after finding that out, I will focus on specializing in those languages specifically.
I am looking forward to gain experience in working in bigger groups in terms of Software Development. I want to learn more about how to build a Software Development team and how to organize the group dynamics. I also want to gain experience in having user feedback to my product and the best way to use it positively to make improvements. I want to learn all the options and angles I have so that I can experiment with my own combinations. I’d also like to spark the interest of someone who is outside of the Computer Science’s umbrella with the many aspects of Software Engineering.