> A young woman suggested that they go around the table and share their real aspirations, most of which required years of training or an advanced degree. “And when it came to me, without hesitation, I was, like, ‘I’d be a journalist,’ ” he said. “And the woman who had asked the question just looked at me as if I were a bit stupid and said, ‘Well, you know, you can just do that.’”

That's how a lot of people became a software engineer. (Personally, I also wanted to be a lawyer, USSC justice, scientist, artist, business person, etc., but computer programming had much lower barriers to entry, including less class gatekeeping.)