I never had an exact plan for my career, but I knew I had to be in a field where there was a lot to learn. I've been motivated by a sense of curiosity my whole life, and it is what drove me to study and practice medicine. I discovered that I had an affinity for picking up on medical terminology and concepts in high school after taking an anatomy/physiology course. I dove in and studied pre-medicine in college and during my sophomore year obtained my EMT license. After a year or so of working in the 911 system in my college town, I came to the realization that it was time for a change. Although I enjoyed the medicine, the culture I was a part of was one of anti-innovation and fear of change and responsibility. The humanness of this extremely human profession had been stripped away, and I knew it would not be a sustainable career for me.
After some time thinking and reflecting (and getting married!), I decided to go back to one my first educational passions and jump into programming. I had taken every computer science class my schools had to offer up until college, and knew it was a field that embraced change and curiosity - something I had to have in my career. So far, this decision has been great. Turing is difficult and exhausting, but the community is something I didn't know I wanted until I got here. I have met some amazing people who have taught me a lot already, and I look forward to the future where I can continue to grow not only in a techincal sense, but in a cultural and human way as well.
Hi Noah, sorry for my delay here, but your story draft is really great! I appreciate how clearly you've outlined what brought you to programming, and I really like the thread of change and innovation being a cornerstone of your career interests. Nice work!