Industry Expert Interview – Exploring Career Paths and Industry Trends

 Week 2 Journal - My CSUMB Journey.

Welcome to my second journal post, and it feels like my learning is connecting in bigger ways. Between reading, watching talks, and reflecting on my own habits, I can see how the skills I’m building now, like time management, project planning, and staying adaptable, are the same ones that professionals use in the fast-changing world of technology. The theme that stuck with me most this week is that the future really is happening right now, and I need to keep pace.

The Future is Now – Review and Reflect Learning Strategy

In the video “The Future is Faster Than You Think” by Peter Diamandis, he explained how technology is speeding up because so many areas like AI, robotics, sensors, and networks are all advancing at the same time and working together. He called this convergence, and it means that changes that used to take decades can now happen in just a few years. The examples he gave, from self-driving cars to personalized medicine, showed me that progress isn’t linear; it’s exponential. This made me think about how important it is to stay flexible as a learner, because the tools I’m using today may already look outdated in just a few years.

The video “Trends in Computing and Software Development” and the Stratoflow article on future software trends added more detail about what this looks like for programmers. They highlighted things like the rise of low-code/no-code platforms that make building apps faster, the growing role of AI in writing and testing code, and the demand for better cybersecurity as systems get more complex. The Medium article “Advice to My Younger Self After 20 Years in Programming” added a personal side to this: the author stressed learning core skills, contributing to real projects, and thinking about the value your work creates, not just the code itself. Together, these sources reminded me that the best way to prepare isn’t to learn everything, but to keep building strong foundations, stay curious about new tools, and be ready to adapt as things change.

Review and Reflect Learning Strategy

After reading Effective Study Skills by Dr. Bob Kizlik, I spent some time reflecting on my own habits and how they line up with the strategies in the guide. I found that some areas really match up with my natural strengths, while others remind me where I could use some growth.

One of my biggest strengths is time management. I already make schedules and, for the most part, I stick to them. I don’t like to leave things until the last day or the very last minute. This habit helps me stay on top of assignments and gives me a sense of relief knowing I’m not rushing. Along with that, I’m good at avoiding procrastination. I would rather finish my work early and have it out of the way instead of letting it hang over me. Finally, I think I do well with focus. I don’t get distracted easily once I sit down to work, and I can usually stay in the flow until I finish what I need to do.

On the other hand, I see a few weaknesses that stand out for me. The first is note-taking. I know from experience that my notes aren’t as organized or useful as they could be, and I often rely more on memory than I probably should. Another area of weakness is test anxiety. Even when I prepare, I sometimes feel nervous during exams, and that affects how I perform. The last challenge for me is more about my environment than my personal focus. With young kids at home, it is hard to get anything done when they are around. Because of that, I have had to plan my study time carefully, usually when they are at school or asleep at night.

Time Management Skills

After reading “9 Key Time Management Skills and How to Improve Them” article, I realized that many of the skills listed overlap with what I already do well, but I also saw ways I could strengthen my habits. Some of the most important skills emphasized were organization, prioritization, goal-setting, and managing your calendar. I already use a schedule to keep myself on track, and I try to finish tasks early instead of procrastinating. That lines up with what the article recommends for effective time management.

I also looked closely at my Activity Log. Since my week is already structured with study blocks, it showed me when I’m most productive and when interruptions are most likely to happen. I noticed that mornings and afternoons are my best times for focused work, while mid-mornings can get interrupted with family responsibilities. Evenings are also a good time for review and group work once the kids are asleep. By comparing my real schedule with the tips from the article, I see that I could improve by assigning low-focus tasks to my more distracted times and saving my deep-focus work for my quietest hours.

Going forward, I want to focus more on prioritization and stress management. Test anxiety is still an issue for me, so building in breaks and creating a calm study environment may help. I also want to keep improving my note-taking so that the time I spend studying is more efficient. Overall, I feel like I’m on the right track with my schedule but still have room to fine-tune how I use my time.                                 

Project Management Basics

I watched three videos: “Project Management Basics” (Introduction), “Work Breakdown Structure”, and “Gantt Chart” on YouTube. Together, they explained how project planning builds on some essential tools that help make large tasks more manageable. The Introduction video explained project management as organizing what needs to happen, when, how, and by whom, all with the purpose of finishing a goal within time, cost, and quality constraints. The second video, about the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), showed that to plan a project well, you break down the final objective into smaller deliverables and sub-deliverables, creating a hierarchy so no piece is missing and nothing is duplicated. Finally, the Gantt Chart video explained how, once you know what all the parts are and have a WBS, you can map them out over time. A Gantt chart gives a visual timeline: which tasks run when, how long each takes, dependencies between tasks, and where milestones fall.

For my own schoolwork, I can see how these tools would be useful. I already make schedules, but using something like a WBS could help me break a big project (like a research paper or group assignment) into smaller pieces so I don’t get overwhelmed. A Gantt chart would be especially helpful for group projects, because I could visually see when my part is due, how it connects with my teammates’ parts, and where we might fall behind. Even though these tools are used in professional project management, I think adapting them to school could help me stay even more organized and reduce stress.

Capstone Projects.

This was my favorite part of this week’s module. The Cohort 16 Capstone Slides provided valuable insights and inspiration that will help guide us as we prepare to create our own projects toward the end of the program. I selected three projects based on several factors, including personal interest in the topic, project quality, presentation, and notable innovation. Below are the projects that stood out to me, along with my reflections on each.

• OtterSoft. OtterSoft was a project that built a résumé reader to help recruiters. Instead of someone going through hundreds of résumés by hand, this tool could pull out details like education and job experience automatically. I thought it was useful because it saves time and helps find the right candidates faster. The team did a good job explaining how they trained the tool, but I think the project could improve by showing how accurate it really is with real résumés.

• A Bird's Song. This was a video game about a Hawaiian bird that went extinct. The goal was to raise awareness about how fragile habitats can be, especially on small islands. I thought the project was beautiful and meaningful, because it used art and gameplay to tell a powerful story. The team also shared that they had challenges learning new tools, but they worked together to overcome them. I think adding more levels or goals would make the game even more engaging, but overall it left a strong impression.

• DriveDiary. DriveDiary is a tool that helps car owners keep track of gas, repairs, and costs. I liked that it was designed to be simple, since many people forget about maintenance or don’t realize how much their car really costs them. The app even shows reminders for when to service the car, which is really useful. The presentation was easy to follow, and I think the biggest improvement would be adding automatic features, like sending reminders by email or pulling data from the car itself.

• CueTracer. This project was created for people working in movie and TV production. Normally, tracking which sound effects or music cues are used in a trailer takes a long time and can be full of mistakes. CueTracer made this process automatic by reading the editing files and turning them into clear reports. I thought it was impressive because it saves a lot of time and makes the work much more accurate. The presentation was clear, though a short live demo would have made it even stronger.

Summary

This week’s journal gave me a chance to connect readings, videos, and examples into a bigger picture. From the Future of Software Engineering article and the Medium post, I learned that staying adaptable and contributing to projects is key for growth. From Effective Study Skills and the Time Management article, I reflected on my own strengths like scheduling and avoiding procrastination, but also on weaknesses like note-taking and test anxiety. The project management videos showed me how tools like WBS and Gantt charts make even large projects manageable. Finally, the capstone festival videos inspired me by showing how students turn ideas into working projects with real-world impact. Altogether, these lessons remind me that good learning strategies, strong time management, careful planning, and clear presentations are all connected. These are not only skills for school but also habits I want to carry into my career and daily life.