Hello, my name is Jay.
Growing up, I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps and become an engineer—and I did, just not in the way I originally expected.
My dad is a Professional Engineer licensed under Engineers and Geoscientists BC (EGBC) and works as a structural engineer. What he does is fascinating, so I initially set out to become a structural engineer myself. During my undergraduate studies, I took courses in calculus, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and all the other engineering fundamentals. I pursued that path for two years until I realized something.
Structural engineering might not be for me.
Why? Because I took my first programming class in Python—and I loved it.
I quickly realized that I had a knack for programming. To be honest, I wasn't particularly good at it at the time, but I found it exhilarating that a few carefully written instructions in a Python file could create something useful. I wanted to learn more.
What ultimately pushed me to transition from structural engineering to software was a group of students in my program. They were transferring to a nearby Mechatronics Engineering program, so I decided to look into it. The curriculum included electronics, controls, robotics, and programming—everything that interested me.
After some discussions and paperwork with my college, I successfully transferred into the program.
As a side note, if you're thinking I should have studied Computer Science or Computer Engineering instead, you'd be absolutely right. The reason I didn't is because I wanted to work with hardware as well as software. Plus, the Mechatronics program was much closer to home, which was a nice bonus.
Fast forward a few years, and I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering.
Then came the next challenge: finding a job.
Should I work at a large corporation or a small startup? Did I have enough skills? Was I ready?
The job hunt was not easy. I applied to around 50 companies and received little to no response. Just as I was beginning to doubt myself, I reached out to someone I had previously interviewed with at a company called Sanctuary AI during my undergraduate years.
Long story short, they gave me an opportunity.
I studied relentlessly, passed the technical interviews and culture-fit interviews, and joined Sanctuary AI as a firmware engineer. I'm still there today, and I genuinely enjoy what I do—which is one of the reasons I created this DEV account.
My goal here is to share insights, participate in discussions, write about engineering topics, and showcase interesting debugging stories from my work and personal projects. As I continue to grow in my career, I hope to document that journey and share lessons learned along the way.
I strongly believe in community and collaboration. To me, progress happens when people share knowledge and learn from one another. So if you'd like to connect, feel free to reach out through email or any of my social channels. I'd love to meet and learn from other like-minded developers.
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