I often think about how I arrived at this point in my life. I am a young man from south asian country, thriving within the hustle & bustle of New York City and working my way towards a degree in Computer Science. Many people would think that major is the ‘sterotype’ and but what they don’t know is that my current career path is something I have always been passionate about.
Growing up in on one of the south asian country, your career path was already decided for you. Children were already destined to be doctors or engineers, anything outside of that was looked upon poorly. These occupations made money and meant success. When my family and I moved to New York, I took the opportunity to look beyond what success meant and look to see what was important to me. I instantly became the black sheep as my siblings turned to more approved paths. My parents wanted me to be a doctor. However, I made a deal with my older brother that I will do his anatomy drawing and we swap our careers. My older brother sought to be a doctor and at the time I was in between shifty day jobs. My hesitation to jump into a lofty major was due to the fact that I didn’t want to wake up doing something just because I was suppose to. And let’s be honest, medicine and science just were never my forte. After high school and time off in between, I found myself a crossroads between what was expected of me and the unknown. I’ve always been a risk taker, so the unknown was the perfect choice.
Now how did computer science come into play? It all started when a friend of mine told me about his own experiences in the field and how there was nothing more satisfying than learning how the latest technology is created. His passion inspired me and looked into the major. As time went on, I grew an interest in learning about coding and the design of the computational systems. I wanted to know what made these machines work. I wanted to understand the intricacies behind the beauty of the Internet and the programs that made it all come together. Now a few years later, here I am! I look forward to continuing my training at the Flatiron School to grow and develop in the programming field. This training will shape my career aspiration to be a global IT consultant.