When I was 15...

When I was 15 years old, I wanted to be a marine biologist - more specifically, I wanted to work with dolphins at Sea World. I believe this was mostly out of peer and social pressures - all my friends were firmly set in what they "wanted to be" and I was envious as I had no idea. I figured, "Dolphins are cool and that would sound good to my peers with aspirations of doctor, lawyer, and geologist. DONE." 

When reality set in that I couldn't base a degree on what might make me look cool, I made the "smart choice" and attended a liberal arts college, graduating with a "concentration" in business. I don't doubt that it was a good decision at the time although to this day I wish I could have told younger me to go with the more traditional computer science route. But you don't know what you don't know... 

Post-college, still direction-less, I dabbled in the restaurant realm, partaking in everything from hostess and server to service expeditor and management. While many folks are happy to make a career in this facet of the hospitality industry, to me it felt like a job and not a career and I knew that I needed something that would better suit who I was. I should note that this was an important stepping stone at that point in my life and no doubt everything that happened next led me to where I am today. 

Ready for a change, I sent resumes everywhere. Hiring or not and across all industries. No rhyme or reason, I just sent them out into the universe and prayed the universe would be kind in it's response. I was 25 and probably naive, but I had nothing to lose. I was also newly single after the collapse of a 6 year relationship had just about crushed me, barely making rent, and, as you can tell, struggling to find my rightful place in the world.

I was floundering but wasn't sure I knew what a fulfilling career looked like or if I'd even recognize it if I had it.

A couple of weeks later I received a call from a local software company I could not even remember sending a resume to for a customer support position. Completely confused, I accepted their offer to come in for an interview while I quickly Googled them to get some sense of what line of work they were in and whether or not it was legit. After hearing from my ex that he'd flown to Arizona for an interview just to Google the company's president in the airport and realize the man was a pornstar, I was rightfully wary. But all was well in my case.

Shortly after, I went in for the interview and realized what had happened: the company I had sent a resume to was in the same building as the one I had not. These companies were owned by sisters and, being all things "sister", my resume was shared from the one who was not hiring to the other who was. The interview went as well as it could have for a nervous, introverted 25 year old and I anxiously awaited the outcome.

It was not long after that I heard back. I recall vividly the jubilation in learning I'd gotten the position and, while I had no idea what exactly I was getting into, I was hopeful for a new adventure and excited for something to focus my attention on.

Fast forward two years into the customer support role at the software company, I was finding it challenging in a number of ways but I was personally frustrated that I wasn't allowed to dive into the software long enough to truly understand what was going on behind the scenes. I yearned to learn more about the software I was working with, get to the root of the problems and come full circle on the resolution of defects. When a QA position opened up at the same company, I took a chance, applied, and got the role. And there I truly thrived.

I had found the "thing" that jived with the fussy, detail-oriented, critical side of me and met my burning desire to make shit better. I relished the joy of reproducing the seemingly unreproducible defect and defiantly squashed it flat with thoughtful test cases. Always an advocate for quality and the end user experience, I sought nothing more than to produce a product we could be proud of and one that was easily understood by our users. I appreciated immediately how software can be rather black and white - it either works or it doesn't, much unlike managing teens at a restaurant where you can tell them ten times to not do something but heck if they are still doing it anyway.

While I have switched companies a couple of times now (while remaining in the QA capacity), I feel incredibly grateful for those early experiences which have led me to where I am today, almost exactly 10 years into my career as a QA Engineer. Those few who helped train me, encouraged me, supported me, challenged me... I would not be in this role today, doing work I love so much if not for those encounters. While it seems utterly ridiculous when I really think about it, sheer luck and chance had a lot to do with me ending up in a software company to begin with.

To those 15 year olds (25 year olds, 35 year olds, whatever!) who have no freakin' clue what the hell you want to do with your lives... Put your neck out there, keep an open mind and take a chance on something even if there's only a mild interest - you never know where it will lead to or what doors might become open to you in doing so.

I still think dolphins are cool but honestly, doing something I am passionate about is way cooler.

Happy 15th Birthday, LinkedIn!