This year, my third at the University of Cincinnati, the most significant event i’ve experienced yet again revolves around my co-op experience. Prior to this summer, I worked for Siemens PLM, in Milford, for two semesters. While I enjoyed the people there, I had realized by the end of my second semester there that the work wasn’t what I wanted to do, so I decided to seek a new co-op. Something that’s discussed a fair amount in our co-op classes is whether or not a company is a good fit for us, and vice versa. Fit is typically composed of two elements: whether or not you enjoy and or excel at the work, and whether or not you enjoy the company culture. While I was working at Siemens, I came to the conclusion that QA work wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore, and that I really wanted to try a different type of work. Skipping through some of the details, after interviewing with a number of places, I accepted a job with Diebold, my current co-op employer. I’m enjoying this work a lot more. Working in a data analytics department, and working in a much more development focused capacity has been really rewarding for me so far, and I think it’s going to continue being so as the second half of the summer semester comes around. More than just discovering that I enjoy development, this job has shown me some of the applications of data analytics that your everyday person doesn’t see. ATM maintenance simply isn’t that common of a thought for most people. In addition to learning more about the type of work that I want to do from this job change, I’ve also discovered more about the type of company and the type of company culture that I think I want to work in. I don’t really feel fulfilled working at a large company, like Diebold or Siemens. The goals and interests of the company feel so far removed from the work that I’m doing, and so far outside of my influence, and because of that I feel very personally disconnected from the company. Cliche though it may sound, the environment created by large, corporate bureaucracies is very unfulfilling to me on a professional, and a personal level. I would really like to try and find a smaller company, or eventually even start my own business where I have a more vested interest in the work that I’m doing, and ideally it’s something that matters to me.
Moving forward, I want to remind myself to keep making progress in turning myself into someone who can experience something like starting their own business. That’s not a small goal, nor is it a short term one. It’s going to take a lot of planning, learning, and probably failure on my part. Too often it can be easy to lose sight of what we really want, and I want to remind myself to not give in to that. In conjunction with that, one goal for myself that I have for this next year is to teach myself about a technology, and accompanying concept within the realm of computer science. So much can be done in this field with self-directed learning, and I’ve really let that potential go to waste so far. Prior to this, I’ve been kind of aimless as to goals for myself after graduation, or what kind of work I want to do. I think this year has really helped me shape my goals for the future, and in turn helped me become a much more motivated person. I want to be someone who makes a difference, not just another person going through the motions of their life for the next 40 years.
Moving forward, I want to remind myself to keep making progress in turning myself into someone who can experience something like starting their own business. That’s not a small goal, nor is it a short term one. It’s going to take a lot of planning, learning, and probably failure on my part. Too often it can be easy to lose sight of what we really want, and I want to remind myself to not give in to that. In conjunction with that, one goal for myself that I have for this next year is to teach myself about a technology, and accompanying concept within the realm of computer science. So much can be done in this field with self-directed learning, and I’ve really let that potential go to waste so far. Prior to this, I’ve been kind of aimless as to goals for myself after graduation, or what kind of work I want to do. I think this year has really helped me shape my goals for the future, and in turn helped me become a much more motivated person. I want to be someone who makes a difference, not just another person going through the motions of their life for the next 40 years.