Hopes for the Future as a Life-Long Learner
18 Jan 2024
I am taking ICS out of my own free will…
I’m going to start by staying this right now: I am not a computer science major. Programming is not really my specialty, and this make me probably the only person taking the ICS 314 (Software Engineering) course this who does not need it for their major. All I have heard is that this course is one of the hardest courses of the ICS major at UH… So of course I am thinking, “What did I just get myself into?”
But with that all being said, the ICS 314 course offers a unique opportunity for me as this course is not taught at my home campus (the University of Minnesota Twin Cities). There isn’t even a software engineering major at my campus, yet it is a position that is in high demand in the tech world. This is one of my main reasons for taking this course of my own free will. When I enter the workforce with my B.S. in electrical engineering, I am hoping that by having programming and software engineering background it will open more doors for me.
Things I would like to learn
A specific thing I am hoping to learn from taking this software engineering course is ways that programming and software engineering intersect with electrical engineering. I would love to have variety in my career one day and learning how many different engineerings work together is something I am passionate about. I also would like to learn more about different types of software, their purposes, and how skills from one software can translate to another. For example, I know that with CAD (computer aided design) softwares, Solidworks and Autodesk Inventor serve the same purpose and could be used at one company verses another. I am sure the same applies to software engineering, so I would like to learn about the different options!
Finally, and most importantly, I would like to refine my programming skills more. I still feel as though I am a very basic programmer and only know a few languages. I would like to become proficient with more languages so I can start to find the best applications for each language!
Conclusion
I am excited to learn new skills in software engineering for future career opportunities and to get a different perspective from my typical hardcore circuit work! Part of being a life long learner is trying new things. This course is certainly a new thing for me (and I am sure a lot of students as well). I have hope and confidence that this will be a wonderful learning experience, and with that, I look forward to the semester ahead.