I originally went to college to study jazz guitar. With the support of my family, I had spent the majority of my life up to that point focused on studying and performing music. I loved the intricate details of musical composition and I could not wait to continue my studies in a college setting. However, a few semesters into my studies my interests began to expand and I started seriously considering changing my major.
Growing up my mom always told me “You know... everything is a business, right? You should learn business”. It was with these words imprinted in the back of my mind that I decided to take a few business courses, which eventually led me to change the course of my college studies from music to business. I subsequently graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with a double major in Finance and Economics and a double minor in International Business and Spanish.
I spent five years working in the financial services industry, where I loved the complex work and the demanding work environments, typically full of type A individuals. However, it wasn't long after starting in the industry that I noticed two things: first, our ability to translate human logic into computer code was quickly destroying and creating jobs; and second, many businesses use extremely antiquated software.
It was with this knowledge that I realized that learning to code would inevitably be my next endeavor. After working as a senior financial analyst at Ayco, Goldman Sachs for three years, and soaking in as much knowledge as I could, I decided to take a leap. In January of 2020, I moved to Berlin, Germany to complete a 9-week full stack coding bootcamp at Le Wagon. It was during this bootcamp that I discovered that not only do I have a passion for the complexity of backend development, but that I really enjoy the creativity that comes with frontend development as well.
Currently, I am looking for work in financial services, and once again, my mother's words are in my head: “Everything is a business”. Keeping this in mind, I am looking for a company with interesting problems where my skills in computer science can be used synergistically to benefit the business.
When I am not coding, you might find me producing/performing electronic music under the artist alias Amin Chavez, or reading. Here are a few books that changed me for the better:
- Principles by Ray Dalio
- Small Is Beautiful by E. F. Schumacher
- How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
- Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis