Career Research and Career Goal: College Admission Paper

I am Min, a first-year student in HCCs. I am pursuing to become a software programmer. When I was young, I used to play the video games a lot, and there were no smartphones at that time, so I used to plan to go out with my friends during the weekend or free time. I realized that my friends were not excited about computers, but I was extremely enthusiastic and passionate when I was tinkering with computer devices, as well as learning about the software or website programming. However, at that time, there were very few specialized training courses in this field. I mainly searched for the limit information from the internet. As I have grown up, the internet and information technology became more popular, and I spent most of my time learning about the software system and the application. Therefore, I have enrolled in computer science at Houston Community College to fulfill my dream of becoming a successful software programmer in the future. According to the Strength Quest Assessment, I am the person who has five strengths called “restorative, futuristic, adaptability, strategic and responsibility” (Strength Quest Assessment). My five strengths based on assessment strengthens me to become a software programmer. I like to think about innovation and make some changes to improve the technology. The improvements that I make should also have an advantage for people, so I want to interact with other people. I know my responsibility, and I can organize things well. As a programmer, I will face a different kind of users, and I must behave well according to their different perspective. That means I can endure with new people and the new environment because of my adaptability strategy. The strategies mentioned above; I wish I could be a better programmer by improving my skills every day. In this essay, I will describe the public information in the Occupational Outlook, the local knowledge about my career, the lifestyle I intend to live based on Texas Reality Check, the same lifestyle in three different cities, the places that I could volunteer in the future and my personal career goals.

As a computer programmer, my responsibility is to test and write code that allows applications and software programs to function accurately by using computer software. In this occupation, I will be able to turn the program designs into instructions that a computer can follow. I will also be required to implement and test the code, and I also have the responsibility to make changes depending on user needs. Most computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree; however, some employers hire workers who have other degrees or experience in specific programming languages like Python, Java, C, C++, Swift, etc. Employers also appreciate if the students gain experience through internships programs while studying, so practical takes an essential role (Computer Programmers). Students can get possible experience by writing code, testing programs, fixing errors, and doing many other tasks they will do at work. To keep abreast of technological change, I can take continuing education lessons and attend professional development seminars to learn new programming languages or about upgrades to the programming languages that I already know. The job outlook for programmers is projected to decline by 7 percent from 2016 to 2026. Computer programming can be done from anywhere in the world, so companies employ programmers in countries with low salaries. It is expected to limit the continuing trend of jobs for computer programmers in the United States growth. However, the high costs associated with projects granted abroad programmers managed to compensate in some cases the savings of low salaries, which means that some companies regain or continue to schedule jobs in the United States.

The salary range for a software program is from $67,378 to $166,135, with a median salary of $110,027 depending on working experience and position level. Three hundred seventy-nine companies are providing jobs to software programs over the last year, and there are currently 5,507 in Houston area. The programmer responsibility is to design new software, to predict consequences using math and scientific models, to consult with customers, to prepare reports on project documentation, to modify existing software due to system errors, to store and retrieve data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements. The required education is the associate’s or bachelor’s in computer science. The jobs are available for full-time and part-time for me with online access. I will work hard to achieve a full-time programmer with online access.

The salaries for software programmers differ depending on the experience and qualifications. Based on the Texas Reality Check, I need to earn an annual salary between $149,730 and $160,534 to maintain the lifestyle that I aspire to live. Basically, I am majoring in computer science, so there are several kinds of jobs according to my major. When I searched in this survey, it probably showed only one title career that I am looking for. I think in my computer science field, it is more important what I can do better than my job title. It showed up with the manager field, and it needs more experience and a higher degree. For the primary software engineer, the minimum salary in Texas is $88,205 per year (Occupational Outlook Handbook). I need to work part-time jobs or internships while studying at University before I get a bachelor’s degree, so I wish I could apply directly to the manager field to pay my bills. Unfortunately, the national average salary does not cover all my expenses for the lifestyle I intend to live. However, I will not give up and stay with fixed pay every day. Firstly, I will make my skills higher because I realize that my skills are worth for only that amount. Secondly, I will learn from the seniors who have already that kind of amount, and I would take some recommendations from them. Finally, I will not even stop learning once my income reached my intended amount because someone can catch up on my position even with a higher amount of salary. Nowadays, people are competitive, and I should upgrade my skills day by day to face with them. The results motivate me a lot to take it more seriously to achieve my career goals and objectives. It also teaches me that life is not as easy as I thought before. Now I could see the plans for my future and start working on it. I need to study the minor courses thoroughly at community college, and I must transfer with the best grade point average (GPA) to get admission from prominent universities, so that the jobs may have more demand for me.

When I compared salary amount on three different locations, it showed a significant difference using the Cost of Living Calculator. Firstly, I searched the Silicon Valley, which has more job opportunities, San Francisco, I also knew this city would have more expenses to live. I compared with my median salary of $80K in Houston, and I found out that I need to earn $157,064 to maintain the same lifestyle (Cost of Living Calculator). Housing is 245% more pricy, and I feel shocked by looking at one thing. There are also several things like groceries is 44% more expensive, Transportation is 38% more expensive, and health care is 36% more expensive (Cost of Living Calculator). Secondly, I also researched the city that I like to visit, Chicago, and I figured it out the significant differences are Housing and Transportation, and the rest are slightly expensive. But I need to earn $100,632 to provide those facilities for my lifestyle (Cost of Living Calculator). Finally, I found Austin, which is known as a tech city, and I need to earn $ 79,348 for the same style in Houston (Cost of Living Calculator). Prices are different, for example, housing is less than 3%, utilities are less than 21%, transportation is less than 4% than Houston. These costs are relatively reasonable with my salary and it gives me a lifestyle I desire to live. Furthermore, Austin is a city where has many large companies in the field of computer technology such as DELL. I can apply for a job there after I graduate. Due to this research, I know the right place with the fair amount to get opportunities and to maintain my lifestyle.

The Volunteer Match website navigates me to where I will be most required for my community needs as transferable soft skills. The Technology for All Services is looking for Computer Engineers to help educational, economic, and personal opportunities for low-income, underserved, and vulnerable persons through the tools of technology. I want to participate with them, and I also want to share my experiences with those people. I can also volunteer at Tech Crops to help people to recruit, place and support volunteers from the technology community who assists schools with the introduction and use of modern technologies to bring additional resources. It will also be helpful not only for society but also for me to reach the goals of us. By volunteering, I will not get any money, but I will get valuable skills that I could reuse in my actual profession. For example, in the volunteer community, I must adapt with various kinds of people, so that I will get communication skills. Secondly, I must explain about the solution if someone from the community asks me, so that I will get the problem-solving skills. I would not get nervous in my actual profession once I received those kinds of techniques.

My long-term career goal is to become a senior software programmer at Amazon or Google by 2027. To achieve that goal, I need to have a good plan and I must work hard every day. The first step is to complete a 2-year program at HCC. In HCC, I will participate in basic computer science classes. I intend to graduate with a GPA of 3.8 to apply to the top 10 universities in the United States. The second step is that I will transfer to a university to get my bachelor’s degree in computer science. I will specialize in computer science major and develop into software programming. I must spend five years to complete those two career goals. I might face a lot of challenges and difficulties during that period, like tuition fees. So, I intend to get high scores by applying for the scholarship. Besides, I will find some jobs on campus to gain experience and increase communication skills. After that, I will go for internships after graduation. I will spend three years to accumulate experience before I apply for a job at Google or Amazon. 6 years is a long time with many challenges, but I believe I will become a professional software developer in the future. Besides, my dream is to be able to provide free education to new generation children in my country that are not well developed in technology. I will work hard and follow the steps to accomplish my long-term career goals in my life. 

Works Cited

1. Computer Programmers. (n.d.). Occupational Outlook Handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-programmers.htm
2. Houston Community College. (n.d.). Computer Science. https://www.hccs.edu/programs/areas-of-study/science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics/computer-science/
3. Occupational Outlook Handbook. (2021). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
4. The 7 Best Programming Languages to Learn in 2022. (2022, January 5). Indeed Career Guide.
5. Top 10 Programming Languages That Will Rule in 2022. (2022, February 16). TechFunnel.
6. U.S. Department of Labor. (2022). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Computer and Information Technology Occupations. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm