I stumbled into tech on accident. After taking the MCAT to fulfill my lifelong dream of going to medical school, I suddenly realized that becoming a physician was the only real career path I had ever really considered, coming from a healthcare-based family. Right on the precipice of this incredible journey I had been preparing for my entire life, I suddenly realized that I didn't want to actually be a physician. I loved the science, that you worked with your hands and people, but I had never considered other career paths that would fulfill those needs. After that realization, I did the only thing I could think of and enrolled in all Art courses the following semester. A complete 180, that should have felt more jarring than it did, but I love challenges, so it felt really great. Though the focus of my life shifted drastically, I realized what I was looking for was a new challenge. Going to medical school would obviously be difficult, but it didn't feel foreign or like I was tackling something new rather than a continuation of a path I was working towards for 10 years.
Within the art department, I ended up focusing on Graphic Design. I was yearbook editor of my highschool, and had previous experience with the Adobe Creative Suite. But more than the actual love of creating designs, I really loved the idea of the lifestyle it would afford me. So many areas of work require graphic or web design to some degree, so it felt a lot more flexible for whatever life I would want in the future, compared to medicine.
After a few years finishing school and working in the tech-scene of Arkansas, I moved to Denver to accept a position as a web designer for a small tech-based marketing agency called the Tiber Group. At this agency, I acquired a lot of incredible skills such as project and design-team management. The experience was incredible and demanding, but after a few years there, I felt like there was not anyone above me that could continue teaching me or facilitating my professional growth. I was at a crossroads of whether to accept another design-based postion at a larger company, or to add to my tech skillset. Upword movement in the design track is much slower, and I am someone that needs to feel challenged to stay engaged. Thus, I decided to add to my skills and acquire front-end engineering knowledge.
I feel most creative now, because I feel like I finally can see a project from its inception and now through it's creation and execuiton. As I go through this program, I can feel my design and project management skills click into my new found development skills. I feel like for the first time, the whole picture is starting to make sense, and now more than ever I feel more freedom in my career path.
Hey Ayla, this is a great starting draft. I really appreciate all the details you have here about your desire to be challenged and how art and design were where you began with that and moved to software from there. I love the ideas you end on as well about the freedom you can utilize to design your career path going forward. In your next iteration, I would recommend finding ways you can communicate these same ideas but in less words -- what could be condensed so that this could be a little shorter? Overall, nice work!