Back when I had to choose my last internship for my electrical engineering degree, I had two options: An internship in the electrical field, doing what I’m supposed to be doing. The other one was an opportunity I was offered in software development.
By now you probably know my choice, but I wanted to give you an idea about how it all started:
Electrical Engineering
Choosing Electrical Engineering was a mistake I made by listening to people and not doing what I want to do.
I’ve chosen it based on my rank in an test where high ranked choose either Civil, Industrial or Electrical Engineering. I was basically just following the mass. And that, was the biggest mistake I made so far. A mistake that nearly costed me my whole life.
One week is all what took me to discover that electrical engineering wasn’t for me… Nothing seemed interesting in it and I couldn’t imagine myself working in it in the next 5 or 10 years.
I tried switching my major. The administration said “No you can’t”. And that lead me to two conclusions:
- You need to study the minimal things to pass exams and get your diploma
- You have 2.5 years to figure out what you’ll do about this mess
The positive side is I had plenty of time to learn something on my own.
Software Development
Disclaimer: This is a love story
My crush for software development started when I got my first computer with an internet connection. I used to play with some basic HTML and CSS to create websites and web interfaces. Then we got an Algorithmic course in school with some basic programming with C. And my love for software development started from there.
So when I screw up by choosing Electrical Engineering. I wanted to correct my mistake by learning something I love this time. And this thing was called: Software Development.
I spent my engineering school years reading books, watching programming videos and programming on the side. In the weekends, or sometimes during a boring lecture of some electrons traveling a wire.
Now, back to the initial problem: Accepting an internship in software development or doing what I’m supposed to do, electrical engineering.
Choosing the first one means I’ll work on something I love and I’ll be happy to do it for at least the next 5 to 10 years. But my resume will be Electrical Engineer with an internship in Software Development… Not a good thing.
Choosing the second one means I’ll work on something I hate in this internship (like 2 prior ones) and probably for the rest of my life.
As you probably know, I decided to choose the first option. I prefer to take a risk to live happily after. Or do what I’m supposed to do and live sad for the rest of my life.
After finishing my internship, I got an offer from the company and accepted it without thinking twice.
Nearly 2 years later, I’m happy with this path. I’m working on something I love every day, I’m learning a lot and I have no regrets. I’m thankful for people who trusted me and helped me do what I love.
It’s normal to make mistakes, we are all humans. What’s not normal is not trying to solve them.
It’s your life, take opportunities and live the way you want.
Do what you love.
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