From Writing Lyrics to Writing Code: Why I Decided to Become a Software Engineer.
Watching movies as a child, I was always fascinated with the hacker/computer nerd character. I’ve been a devoted fan of science, tech, and sci-fi for most of my life. Seeing people engineer cutting-edge solutions to humanity’s problems seemed like the noblest of pursuits, and I would tell my parents, “I’m gonna be an inventor when I grow up!” However, when I hit the stage as an adult, it wasn’t as a Scientist but as a Songwriter.
As a Rapper, Producer, and Audio-Engineer, I’ve had many successes and many setbacks in my decade-long career. I’ve opened for Post Malone, MIGOS, Young Thug, and Tech N9ne. I’ve performed live on ABC, Huffington Post, and Paste. And most recently, I was featured in a Forbes article talking about how I produced a couple of songs for brands that got Billions of views on TikTok. After years of courtship, finally, my job was to create jams.
I’m a completely self-taught Producer and Audio-Engineer. I was able to leverage this YouTube-born knowledge into an actual career. With my confidence in the clouds, the wheels began to turn: What other skill could I learn quickly to empower myself further?
I used to assume learning computer science and software engineering required a four-year degree. Until I saw my former roommate go from being a music Producer to an employed Data Scientist in less than a year. He told me he went to a Bootcamp, and they have an intense & immersive course that will teach you how to code and get a job in mere months. Suddenly, I saw the possibility. I stacked some bread with some music projects for about a year, acquiring an adequate bag to be comfortable, and then I enrolled in Flatiron School’s Software Engineering Immersive.
Fast forward to today, and I LOVE IT. I can feel new neural pathways growing every day. The course material is hard, but I’m absorbing it like a sponge. And I’m starting to think of apps I don’t even fully know how to build yet! As I take my first steps on this journey, my love for Tech & Science has been rekindled, and my intense passion for deep work is being applied to every lab I tackle.
People in the music industry in LA used to say my lyrics were too “complex,” too “wordy,” or too “niche.” I had to simplify it to reach a wider audience. However, I feel like I’m entering a field where I don’t have to tone it down. I can use my analytical mind's full capacity to solve the problem and then refactor & simplify it to make it accessible. I feel like the same parts of the brain I used to write lyrics and music are being activated to an extreme when performing a coding task. Perhaps somehow, the years as a musician have provided me with the creative skills necessary to thrive as a Software Engineer.
Coding is really, really hard. And that’s why it's so rewarding. Finally, I’m going to join the ranks of the tech industry. This is something I’ve desired for a long time, and music has given me the means to fund my education. I’ll no longer be a tech fan watching from the sidelines; I’ll be in the game.
