Going into my first semester I still did not declare a major and it wasn’t until my sophomore year that I declared computer science as my major. To be honest computer science was the only major I had an interest in. I looked at every other major at UH and it did not really interest me at all. Software engineering has always interested me because I love technology and really want to know how it works. Going into computer science, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I had no experience with coding and many of my fellow classmates were far ahead of me already. I was pretty scared I was going to fall behind and I did for a little. Then I realized computer science is like going to the gym. It is repetition and lots of practice. You are not going to see results if you go to the gym once a week, you need to go periodically. This is the same with computer science; you need to practice, practice, and practice. Software engineering is very unique and different from anything I learned in my entire life, which is why I like it. The work is also very rewarding. I am particularly interested in the security side of computer science because I will be going into the Air Force once I finish college and plan to get involved with cyber warfare once I commission.
As a computer science major I want to develop the skills to code in many languages. I would like to learn this skill so that I have some experience and will be useful for future jobs. Even though I would love to learn many languages, I also want to understand the algorithms that go along with coding. This is very important because I don’t just want to code things, but understand how the code works. Other skills I would like to learn is to be able to work well with others. I want to be able to contribute more and share my knowledge more with others. I tend to shy away from this because I feel like other people are much better and smarter than me. I want to get better, but at the same time it is important to realize that everyone has something different to offer. So I need to always remember this and not be afraid to share my knowledge.
I would like to experience a lot in the future. I personally want experience the security side of computer science because I will be going into that field once I graduate. I mentioned above about going into cyber warfare and am very interested to see what kinds of experiences I will be having when I am in the Air Force. When I am in the Air Force I would like to be exposed to both the offensive and defensive sides of cyber warfare. Once I retire from the Air Force, I plan to get a job that involves computer science. I would like to get involved with something similar to what I did in the military if I enjoyed it. Throughout my journey I would like to meet some cool people and make some lifelong friends.
I feel like computer science is a great field to get into because it is a field that is continuing to grow. The future is rapidly approaching and pretty much everything now days require a computer or some sort of technology. I am grateful to be interested in computer science because the field needs people right now. I can’t wait to learn the many skills I need to succeed. I also can’t wait to make some lifelong friends and have these amazing experiences in the future.