How I Changed Careers From Selling Drug Store Products to Software Engineering
The best way to find what you love in life is to do something you hate. Throughout my tough days grinding 40 hour work weeks behind the cash register, I dreamed of building products that would change the lives of others. I worked aimlessly at a drug store after graduating high school. I did not know what I wanted to do with my life.
I took a risk and decided to take computer science at a university to make a career change. I had no prior knowledge of programming, but I chose computer science because I was genuinely interested in the subject.
How I Went From a Failing GPA of 1.1 to a 3.92 GPA
I remember going to the professor’s office for help because I could not understand anything. I never programmed before.
I was so embarrassed, but I kept showing up to lectures and programming every day. Although I was not good at programming, I was genuinely curious about technology.
In my second year, I went from a GPA of 1.1 to 3.92 and landed my first internship in software development.
I love what I do.
The reason why I failed in the first place was that I let fear take over. Passion is letting go of fear. I succeeded when I was not afraid to call myself a software engineer. I want to inspire others with my story and expand my academic knowledge in computer science at the University of Waterloo.