Spencer, Senior Developer at L3Harris
Published 12 Jul 2020
Tag: computer-scienceWhy did you choose to pursue this career? What made you certain this was the right path?
My original path was biomedical engineering and while interning at Becton Dickinson (a medical device manufacturing company) I continually found myself gravitating towards software-heavy tasks. I knew it was the right path since the software projects that I became involved with continued to spark my interest and challenge me in ways that the biology and mechanical field did not. I continue to confirm that it was the right path when I find myself doing projects that are similar to my full-time job in my free time.
What events, prior employment, or educational experiences led you to your current job?
The key events that led me down this path were internship-focused undergraduate programs as well as participation in the National Scholarship for Service (https://www.sfs.opm.gov/) program.
Both experiences placed heavy emphasis on engagement with industry in the form of frequent job fairs, guest speakers, and office tours. The close relationship with potential employers offered participants insight into the types of career paths available, as well as providing a head-start on building professional relationships.
What schooling, education, and/or certifications did you complete to prepare you for this career?
B.S. in Computer Engineering, University of Maryland College Park. Master’s in computer science, George Washington University on the Scholarship for Service program. The Master’s program conferred a number of industry certificates.
It should be noted, however, that I have highly respected peers doing nearly the same job that did not complete their undergrad degrees. University coursework provides the needed fundamentals in a rigorous (and, depending on the program – possibly VERY rigorous) format. But a disciplined self-starter with sufficient tenacity can gain needed skills for success in just about any STEM sub-discipline on their own. A substantial advantage, however, of enrolling in a formal program is the head-start on building your professional network, as mentioned above.
How did you make the best use of your time in both your education and career?
Time management was never my strong suit!
I will say that looking back, it’s clear that when you’re a student or when you’re just beginning your career, individuals and entire organizations have a vested interest in giving you opportunities to be exposed to many different things. As you progress in your career, individual responsibilities increase, and those opportunities dwindle.
Good use of time would be to capitalize on those opportunities when offered. The types of activities as a student include office tours, brown-bag lunch sessions, rotational programs, and attending talks on topics from subject matter experts. As an intern or new employee, capitalize on opportunities to tour other parts of the organization – even if it seems unrelated to your current position. I toured an aluminum casting plant, spent a day working on a medical device assembly line, and attended congressional hearings on data privacy simply because the opportunities cropped up. Seeing other aspects of the business put my day-to-day job in context. It also helps one to determine if there are other paths that they’d like to pursue or – equally important – paths they’d like to avoid.
What advice would you give to a high school or college student interested in pursuing this field of work?
Do the things! Take stuff apart, build stuff from kits. Re-flash consumer electronics firmware with custom ROMs. Install a second (or third!) operating system on your laptop side-by-side with the current one. Filter ads when browsing from your home network by using a raspberry pi based project.
If software development is your field of interest, follow a popular project on github and attempt to understand the content of a recently merged pull-request. With enough interest and confidence, submit your own PR to the project!
What opportunities would you suggest high school students participate in?
Makerspaces, topical meetups, and tours whenever available.
What opportunities did you take as a student that helped advance your career (research, internships, etc.)
Pursuing an internship as early as possible is critical. I also highly recommend the Scholarship for Service program.
What do you wish you had done differently with regards to your career/education?
I would have liked to more aggressively had pursued any opportunity for a temporary relocation to do a similar job at a different location. Those types of opportunities were plentiful, however I always felt that it would negatively impact whatever I was currently engaged on. The reality is that every opportunity comes with a cost that must be evaluated.
What was a surprising aspect of your job?
It is surprising the degree of autonomy that an individual or group can be granted when they demonstrate a high degree of mastery.
This is commonly referred to as “finding one’s niche” and while it’s not a very rapid process, it can be very rewarding and satisfying when it occurs. A typical path is to take accountability for a piece of the problem or project that is necessary but simultaneously either neglected, misunderstood, or otherwise uninteresting to the larger unit.
When an individual masters a subsystem, they are given decision-making authority regarding that subsystem.
The pleasant surprise has been that if an entire team or business unit can stake their expertise in a specific niche, it can set the parameters for the larger organization’s interaction with the group.
What qualities are necessary to be successful in your field of work, and why?
Software engineering in general takes a high degree of tenacity – some days it feels like every piece of silicon and layer of the operating system is conspiring to thwart you. We never cease being humbled by the machines at any level of experience so keep the ego in check.
Communication skills are also paramount. Clarity of communication is circularly linked with clarity of thought. The consumers of your work product – both your users as well as your fellow developers – can thrive only when you’ve clearly expressed your intent and their objectives. The stereotype of the lone wolf hacker in their basement is mostly a myth. Large-scale, collaborative projects ultimately require detailed coordination among your fellow human beings, which is impossible without clear communication.
Do you have any additional advice?
Explore your interests and find what sparks your passion by capitalizing on the tour and informational opportunities described above. But also don’t become too enamored with sayings such as “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”.
Your path through higher education and your career (even if that career is to found a startup and be your own boss) will be filled with items that feel like the classic definition of work. They’ll also be filled with challenges that might make you question your commitment.
The way to persevere through the tough patches is to envision yourself re-experiencing the satisfaction that you previously felt when you mastered or leveled-up on a STEM topic or project. The STEM field is an unending set of challenges that – for those of us seek the thrill of mastering one small topic and moving on to the next – will never cease to be motivating.