Intersection of Music and Software Engineering
In January of my senior year at Colby College, I was a music teacher assistant at Warsaw Middle School in Pittsfield, Maine. My experience in that classroom was very positive — I grew both professionally and personally.
Soundtrack: Smoke & Tea - Letting Go
I didn’t end up up going down the career path of a music educator as was my plan back then — I’m now enjoying my work as a senior software engineer — but I still value my degree in music, what I learned from my instructors at Colby, and my experience as a music teacher assistant at Warsaw Middle School. While I’m not using much music theory, conducting skills, or many other aspects of my music degree at work or in my own music anymore, I believe there’s a reason why I find many other fellow musicians in the tech industry, particularly in engineering: music demands a propensity for abstract thought, which is a valuable skill to have as a software engineer. There are other characteristics musicians have that help us excel as software engineers, such as a dedication to practice in developing a skill, but I’d like to underscore that musicians’ readiness for abstract thought is a strength we bring to the table.