An incident that caused you to question your previously held assumptions

“To join the work industry, I need to discover a specific field I am interested in,” I always thought.

I questioned this assumption on Friday during a Pizza and PD session. Pizza and Personal development (Pizza and PD) is a one-hour meeting held every Friday where TNT interns meet with Microsoft staff to share their personal experiences and development tips with the interns.

This Friday, we had a diverse group of Microsoft staff, ranging from the Chief Information Security Officer to Senior data Analysts and Project managers.

In response to one of the questions, most of the panelists explained that although they have worked at Microsoft for more than a decade, they are still discovering their passions and the different ways in which they can make an impact. I wondered what kept them motivated to work if they are still finding their passion. The panelists talked about how the ability to try out different challenges, and the people they work with are their greatest motivation to work at Microsoft.

As a rising sophomore, I have taken a handful of Computer Science classes to declare and commit to a specific career field currently. And maybe the expectation that I will know this field when I am a senior might also be incorrect. Being passionate about a continually changing field like Computer Science should be an indication that my passions will change frequently. 

During this Pizza and PD, I question whether I am required to have a specific field in figured out before joining the work industry, as I have always known, or adopt a growth mindset and look for people that will support my growth.