If you’ve caught my LinkedIn post, you’ve seen I’m going back to school. I’ve joined the Oregon State postbacclaureate online computer science program.
Why?
3 reasons.
One, the biggest one, is that I don’t like not knowing things.
I’ve hit two of the three roles in Scrum pretty heavily: Scrum Master and Product. But I’ve never been a Software Developer.
It bothers me that I coach practices like pair programming and test-driven development and yet I have no firsthand experience in them. While this can be a good thing – I have an unbiased understanding of the theory of software development and can approach challenges from a place of curiosity and objectivity – I would really, really like to get my hands on some code.
Speaking of challenges and code, my second reason is exactly that: I want a new challenge and I want it to be code. My daily work relies heavily on people – meetings, conversations, questions, training, coaching, and facilitating change in people.
It’s rewarding.
And it’s draining, especially as an introvert.
My days tend to be hopping around in back-to-back meetings. The very state of uninterrupted flow that I coach in my developers is not available to me. I want to explore a stretch of time parked in front of a computer, getting frustrated with code instead of with people.
Which is not something I ever thought I’d be capable of. The third reason I’m studying computer science is I never thought I could. I didn’t think I had the mind for programming. I still don’t fully trust that I’m capable of it, especially not after 14 years away from formal education.
I’m ready to prove myself wrong. To be a better coach. To become a programmer.
And to explore a brave new world.
Computer Science by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0