Thoughts for the Future

This week I attended College of Charleston's Computer Science Alumni Symposium.  At this annual event, several CS Alumni are invited to return to the school and share their experiences and lessons learned with current students.  I had also attended this event last year and found it to be a valuable time, so I was glad for the opportunity to participate again. 

It was interesting to me how many of them recommended things that we are actually doing in this class.  The advice to get involved with FOSS projects was repeated several times, along with the advice to find something that you are passionate about and get involved.  We also were encouraged to start getting familiar with refactoring code because in your job you will most likely be working with code written by someone else, and it may not be the highest quality work.  I was pleased to hear that our experiences in this class are exactly what people out in the corporate world are looking for in future employees.

Unfortunately I also found myself personally discouraged.  I am eager to use this degree upon graduation, but at this time my life has so many unknowns after May.  I know that women with families can pursue successful careers in this field because I know many who have, including the women in the CofC Computer Science Department.  However, I seem to be in a holding pattern.  All I know is that I will not be living in Charleston after the summer and I will be learning a whole lot about motherhood - which will always trump my career.  I'm hopeful of finding some sort of part-time work that allows me to telecommute or perhaps start my own small consulting business, but I think for the first year, or even first few years, I will simply be working for myself, fostering that creativity that future employers will be looking for. 

Here comes the real test - when school is over and life's changes clamor for my attention, will I take the initiative and make the time to exercise what I've learned?  I know my education has given me the resources to continue learning on my own.  I hope I will. 

Here's to the future!