I recently graduated from coding bootcamp at the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy of Code in New York City, and am now in the process of relocating to Washington, DC and looking for a job in software development. Admittedly, it’s not the greatest time to be entering the job market or moving out of state, but this experience has made me extremely grateful to be entering a growing, innovative, and resilient field which has done so much to solve unexpected problems that have arisen during this pandemic.

Part of what initially drew me to become a software engineer was the immense problem-solving capacity of the industry, and that quality has been on full display these last few months. I’ve been so inspired by solutions I’ve seen developed by the tech world — everything from resources to connect volunteers with the elderly and immunocompromised in need of groceries and supplies, to tools allowing for social connection in a time of physical distancing.

One of the most rewarding parts of my bootcamp experience was working to develop my capstone project with a team of three other software engineers. When we began our project, we had just recently transitioned from in-person to remote classes in response to the pandemic. Already beginning to feel the effects of isolating ourselves from friends and family, we wanted to create a tool to connect people from the safety of their homes. We developed Couch Potato, a Chrome extension allowing multiple users to watch Hulu together remotely.

Since wrapping up with bootcamp several weeks ago, my family and I have had weekly movie nights from our respective homes by using Couch Potato. It’s been so rewarding to see the tangible results of a solution I helped engineer. While I realize it might have been a small problem we were solving, in the scheme of everything happening in the world right now, it was nonetheless a motivating and eye-opening experience. I can’t wait to continue to use my software engineering skills to create good in the world.