Go for it!

I started working in the restaurant/service industry during college and it quickly developed into a career that would span close to two decades. A sandwich chain taught me a great deal about management, how to run a business, and how to creatively solve problems.

Despite being successful, I found that I was missing something every day I went to work. I never really felt that ‘spark’ about what I was doing. A few times, I’d contemplated changing careers completely. I thought about leaving the service industry and going back to school in order to transition into a career that challenged me and allowed me to pick up and develop new skills that had always just interested me as hobbies. Fear kept me from doing anything about it.

If you find yourself faced with the same situation and are in a place where you’re financially able to make the change, go for it. I should’ve made the change sooner. I’m currently enrolled in a 12-week software engineering immersive boot camp. 5-weeks in, I wake up every day with a smile on my face, skipping out the door with my lunch box in hand to ride the bus downtown to ‘school.’

The first step in the process was definitely the hardest. Deciding to leave behind something that I’d done for such a significant portion of my life was absolutely terrifying. I’m just sad I didn’t take the plunge sooner.