Part 2 of 3: The “Why” behind my journey from Experienced Physical Therapist and Director of Rehabilitation to Entry Level Software Engineer.
**Read Part 3 on the overlap of skills in healthcare and technology careers.**
In Part 1 of this series, I wrote about the why behind leaving Physical Therapy and healthcare. In this post, I plan to write about my motivations in entering the world of technology. There were many different directions I could have pivoted to, but I decided on software engineering. Here is my why…
- My past experiences in Software Engineering.
In high school (historians estimate this to have occurred at approximately 75 BC), I started dabbling in web and software development. I created my own webpages on platforms such as angelfire and geocities (…I told you this was 75 BC). I took elective courses in high school in C++, HTML, and visual basic. At this point, I was on the road to becoming a computer engineer. I was excited about entering college as a Computer Engineering major at Villanova University. I built my own computer and all!
When I got to Villanova, I loved my first semester course work. Learning how to do more in C++ was so much fun. However, a curveball was thrown my way. My mother had injured herself taking care of my stepfather, who had Multiple Sclerosis and was wheelchair bound. I ended up transferring out of Villanova and to Stony Brook on Long Island to assist with taking care him to reduce the burden for my mom. I continued my track in software engineering at Stony Brook, but at the same time found a passion for helping others directly. This is where the thoughts of becoming a doctor came into the picture.
After 2 years of college, I decided to go the healthcare route. I ended up on the physical therapist track once I did an internship with the Buffalo Bills. I had always loved challenging myself through strength and conditioning and saw this hybrid model as what I wanted.
I am not going to go into what happened with my PT journey because that’s what I spoke about in Part 1, but while I was a PT I would consistently think of “what if I stayed an engineer?”. I saw the lifestyles of my friends who were engineers, heard about the things that they were doing, and got excited to learn more about their jobs and company’s missions. I kept thinking about things I could create. In that spirit, I developed a blog (RIP TGP) and found myself hitting that “flow state” in doing so. I started realizing that I loved making that website more than I enjoyed being a clinician. This got me thinking about a switch and I began talking to a roommate who had attended Launch Academy.
2. I love creating things!
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a very passionate person. I love making things. I love working as a team toward accomplishing a goal. I love seeing the fruits of my labor and overcoming challenges to get there. I enjoy learning and doing so in a high stress environment. I am driven to learn and to see the results of hard work. What better way than to create something new from something you have learned.
3. FLOW!
Software engineering is the only place that I have ever experienced true “flow” state. I can code for hours and it will feel like minutes. Even when faced with difficult problems or a tedious task, it does not feel like work. I enjoy grabbing the low hanging fruit, but also tackling the most challenging of problems. I get excited when I dive deep into looking under the hood, getting my hands dirty, and putting my fingers to the keys.
4. I can help people on a larger scale!
The main driving force behind becoming a health care professional was the ability to help other people. However, unless you utilize technology or education, the amount of people you can help is limited to the amount that you are able to see in person. Software engineering opens up an amazing opportunity to create or work on a project that can improve the lives of others. I am also not limited to just healthcare. It could be improving someone’s quality of life through entertainment….or transportation…or access… etc etc. How could that not be exciting?
5. The potential lifestyle changes
Obviously, all roles in software engineering do not apply here, BUT the potential of working remotely or just having the ability of not being attached to a strict schedule would be a gift. Coming from an inflexible appointment based healthcare model, made it so that I had very little options in how I used my time outside of work. A results oriented industry sounded like a dream. Also, just looking at some of the benefits of the companies I have been applying to… there is a lot more emphasis on work life balance in this industry vs. healthcare. As someone looking to have a family and achieve other things, this has potential of being a huge difference maker in my life.
6. I LOVE TO LEARN
I am a huge nerd. I gravitate toward non fiction. I watch way too many documentaries. I listen to podcasts and youtube channels in software engineering and it becomes all I talk about (yes ladies…I am still single). I love using my brain. You give me a challenge in a language or technology I have not used before, I get motivated to learn that language or technology and give you back more than what you asked for. There is just so much to learn in software engineering, and that truly excites me. I love the ever changing industry of technology and how I can see myself challenged and learning something for the rest of my life.
7. Growth mindset and Transformational Coaching
This article is getting really long, but I wanted to add one more set of values that has caused me to enter the technology realm. If you have not caught on yet, I have a growth mindset that is constantly looking for new ways to improve myself. Further, I am truly passionate about transformational coaching. That is, helping other people grow and achieve their goals of becoming a better person. Not only in their profession, but at the personal level as well. I enjoy watching other people succeed and know that I had played a part in helping them do so. This combination points me to working in a team. As mentioned, I look for opportunities to better myself, but also strive to better my team. This can be seen both at an individual level, as well as the team or company as a whole.
I could go on for hours typing the reasons why I am excited to enter the software engineering world, but I think I have talked your ear off enough. If any of this resonated with you, or if you just want to connect to share your journey/hear more of mine feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I enjoy sharing the things that I am learning, as well as cool engineering tips I have picked up along the way! And if not, there is one more part to this series which will focus on how PT and my other life experiences overlap with those skills required to be a successful engineer. See you next time!