When most people think of the future (2022), they say words like metaverse, blockchain, lab-made foods, artificial intelligence, and the list goes on. But one common thing that all future innovations share: STEM. Innovations are meant to introduce a new idea that will hopefully improve the value of society or the world. In modern society, one innovation that we have found helpful that has embedded itself in almost all items is technology. Things like a refrigerator can now let users know when they are running low on certain foods, and retail stores use machine learning models to predict what customers may want before they think of it. In addition, especially in times like this, people are also creating machine learning models to explore the mortality risk of covid-19.
These technologies can be broken down into two sections, hardware, and software. As the name implies, hardware deals with developing the physical components of a computer and its peripherals. On the other hand, software engineering comprises of the digital instructions that tell the hardware how and what tasks to perform. Each section depends on the other and coexisting. However, with computers being so accessible, the lack of materials needed to get started, and free online resources, learning software development is now easier than ever. These online resources allow anyone at any age and time to learn dozens of programming languages at no cost and will enable the user to build programs to ease their lifestyle.
The one thing that caught my interest in software engineering, especially in the realm of artificial intelligence and big data analytics, is the ability to find hidden patterns. Although these patterns can be found everywhere and in everything, they can be challenging to find. However, by manipulating these numbers (data), you can create algorithms that allow you to find patterns and extract meaningful insights about the world around you. Simple models and algorithms such as the “Iris Dataset” allow users to classify three different flowers that are almost identical. However, this can also be expanded to other topics, such as detecting walking patterns for cyber security or user product consumption for marketing purposes. The main idea is that we live in the information age, where software has covertly submerged itself in every aspect of daily life. Now it’s your choice to either update with the world around you and learn new skills or be left behind.
My biggest inspiration to get a computer engineering degree is that you gain insight into how the world works around you, and it being one of the most lucrative career paths. As a computer engineer, you learn both sides of engineering: software and hardware engineering. You learn how to design, process, and implement projects that solve real-world problems from software engineering. On the other hand, you learn the engineering process from hardware engineering, which allows you to tackle issues that may seem too big at first. The engineering major also establishes essential skills such as discipline, time management, and prioritizing. That is why I am currently trying to adapt to the athletic software engineering (WOD) process, which will hopefully benefit me in the future. Additionally, what inspired me to pursue the engineering field is our impact on our world and society. We are constantly changing the world with new inventions and solutions that affect everyone’s daily lives. Also, we can literally make our dreams come true.