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How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

gulnara.svbtle.com

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Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#11

Here in Canada, you need to write an exam in order to legally call yourself an "engineer" – it's a protected term.

No, you can call yourself whatever you want. A janitor can call himself a "custodial engineer". You're probably thinking of the "P. Eng." designation beside your name.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#13
post #7
post #4

Congratulations on the new job. I'm sure that sitting in front of a computer all day like some kind of fleshy office appliance was getting really old - oh, wait.

When your biggest complaint about your full-time employment is that you are too sedentary, you are in a much better place than millions of other people.

Not to mention that we are living in an age of rapid innovation, including standing desks.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#14
post #9
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoying the myriad little mysteries we call "bugs" is key to being a good programmer. Bugs that we create are opportunities to understand the system better - it's a signal that there is behavior we don't understand.

> Enjoying the myriad little mysteries we call "bugs" is key to being a good programmer. I disagree. I hate bugs and I do everything I can to prevent them from ever occurring. To me I find it fun to get better and better at preventing bugs.

I do not think javajosh would disagree with you on that. I think he was suggesting treating bugs as opportunities for learning, in fact I think this feeds into your point.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#15
Damn good job. Genuinely happy for you, I think more so because I can relate so closely.

I've made the very tough decision to not pursue a residency after medical school and to finally commit to jumping into the startup world. It's both really frightening and exciting to go in a completely different direction after dedicating 4 years of my life to rigorous education. I graduate in May, so I've been trying to absorb as much information and to develop as many skills as possible in preparation for the leap. I'm hoping to perhaps find some good opportunities during Startup School weekend.

So I really commend you for making the jump. And thanks for writing about it. It's encouraging and reassuring, especially since I've been told I'll end up homeless if I take this risk.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#16

Here in Canada, you need to write an exam in order to legally call yourself an "engineer" – it's a protected term.

Why is it that any time anyone mentions 'engineer', some Canadian finds it neccessary to mention this? Yes yes we get it already, but the rest of the world isn't so hung up about it.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#17
I did the same thing - I moved from international business into technology on transportation systems overnight actually - I learned on the job in big enterprise. Now I'm a full on scala/akka developer and don't regret the change one bit.

To me the greatest joy is actually working on my own projects.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#18

Here in Canada, you need to write an exam in order to legally call yourself an "engineer" – it's a protected term.

In California the protected term is "Professional Engineer" - you have to pass accreditation to call yourself that. No civil engineer can find work without it but no one cares whether software engineers get it.

By the way, as part of a cost-cutting measure many years ago, the state government standardized on a single certificate form for all professional certifications, which means the PE certificate looks exactly like the "Certified Hair Technician" certificate the barbers at Great Clips are required to display at their work area.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#19

Here in Canada, you need to write an exam in order to legally call yourself an "engineer" – it's a protected term.

It's just an exam? What the hell did I do for 4 years to get an engineering degree?

Exactly. Love to know this exam for sure. I'm sure the OP meant the ethics exam one takes after they've done their member in training work upon graduation.

Re: How I left a 4 year career in finance and became a software engineer in 5 months

#20

My initial reaction to this was to pick it apart, but really, that would be stupid of me since it doesn't deserve it. There is value in the piece and it was a nice story. Congrats as well.

Agreed. Do what makes you happy (or at least the least unhappy :) ). Lucky for the OP he found out what that was.
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