# /the_engineers_who_why.txt
 | engineering_blog

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/feed/156328
- Entity ID: wefunder:feed_item:156328
- Published at: 2023-01-26 21:45:21 UTC
- Updated at: 2025-07-17 20:56:02 UTC

## Author
Makena Kong

## Subject
engineering_blog

## Content
A rag-tag group of almost-doctors, founders, randoms and problem solvers. Some of us just happened to be good at coding. Some of us are completely self-taught. Some of us were on different teams at Wefunder and forced our way onto this team. Most of us are in it for the money. Nearly all of us have taken down the website more than once. We are the engineers of Wefunder!Check out our slack photos and hear from each of us on why we became engineers and why we stayed engineers. Benji almost went to med school, now Director of Engineering at WefunderWhy did you become an engineer?Initially I became a software engineer because I wanted to work in a field that required me to solve problems logically, which isn’t something I got from the medical field; I also wanted a lucrative career. The more interesting question is: Why am I still a software engineer? Simple: I discovered that programming is literally the funnest thing in the world; and the fact that I can have fun while writing software that positively impacts the lives of others fulfills my deep desire to help others.Emiliocs college dropout, now on capitalize team at Wefunder including vp of our broker dealer companyWhy did you become an engineer?idk i think i enjoyed computers since i was a kid and it was a very logical optionplus i really enjoy it i actually think i’d do it for free if i couldWhat do you like about coding?i think i like the problem solving part of itlike oh there’s this issue it could be a million different things let’s do some detective work. and when you finally solve it it’s like the best thing everalso building stuff people likeit’s nice to see them use it and it’s nice when they’re like ‘omg this saved me so much time’NemanjaWould be “an artist or instrument builder” if not a software engineer, but currently on the money masters team at wefunderWhy did you become an engineer?Originally I wanted to make videogames, then I just found programming intellectually stimulating, but game dev a bit dirty and annoying. For the longest time I actually wanted to be a computer scientist, not an engineer, and have tried to do a PhD in programming language theory in California, but living in poverty wasn't my thing. But basically - I really enjoy programming. And I think that thinking deeply about real world systems and creating abstractions for them gives you a level of insight into those systems that little else can. Eg, if you make a synth from scratch, suddenly you understand audio synthesis much better, and that informs your music playing. And then playing instruments informs your view on what a synth could or should be, and you end up making a really interesting piece of software. Also, programmers are one of the few people who can unleash their full creativity without needing much from the real world, except a laptop. Sorry if it's a wall of textMakena Traditional cs college grad, would quit to build furniture, now on fundraising team at WefunderWhy did you become an engineer?i thought CS was just web design - and then i got to college and it was not that at all and i almost dropped out - but then i realized it wasn't that hard and decided to stayWhat do you like most about coding?yea i do really enjoy programming - not really for the challenges/problem solving aspect - but for the pure sport of creating/building things. i have rebuilt my personal website 3 times for no reason.Stefanmentors at science camp for high schoolers and is on money masters team at WefunderWhy did you become an engineer?Well, the short answer would be that I first learned to type on Commodore64 then to write. The long one would be, I always liked tinkering with electronics, mechanics and programming. I studied electrical engineering, but wound up writing software full time. I love learning new languages and solving hard problems. There is charm in seeing something you build being used and helping others, though this isn't solely software engineering thing per se. And lastly, if I weren't earning for living writing programs, I'd probably do it in spare time nontheless.Nick Dropped-out but now finishing cs degree, left and came back to wild card team at wefunderWhy did you become a software engineer?I learned to code because it was kind of fun making my own website and showing to friendsit was just a path that seemed easier to me than other careersI think i was just better than some of my friends at itThen I kept doing it and found it to be pretty interestingThen I started doing things that were interesting to me like smart home stuffand eventually found more and more things that i feel are cleverly designedand started appreciating things people have builtand also its a very lucrative career $$$$ that was always importantArisa business major turned cs major, now on EU team at WefunderWhy did you become a software engineer?I started as a business major and realized i don’t like presentations/prefer building stuff better. I didn’t know about CS until I came to the US honestly, but it was popular at my school so i gave it a try!Ben college drop-out, business dev employee turned engineer on fundraising team at wefunderWhy did you become a software engineer?but i became an engineer because it presented a better opportunity to work on really hard problems with discrete outcomes which is faster feedback for feeling like I'm accomplishing something in life... (edited) jk imagine if that was meRealistically tho I decided to try it because it looked fun and then realized I really enjoyed doing it and it's just a passion of mine (evidenced by me working on OSS because it's fun IMO) that I realized was a passion later on in life. Getting to collect a paycheck for doing so is a nice cherry on top (edited) Samtraditional cs college grad, now on money masters team at WefunderWhy did you become a software engineer?I went into college not knowing what I wanted to major in, picked CS for sort of arbitrary practical reasons related to how my school sorted students, ended up really liking it.Atticustraditional cs college grad, surfs, now on money masters team at wefunder Why did you become a software engineer?decided in high school cuz my cousin founded his first startup and thought the tech scene was coolgreat job market and super smart peopleall of which i still largely believe in but obviously a good deal more jaded nowWhat do you like most about coding?fun to build and there’s no end of things to learn. i love working with smart people and there’s loads of them in techMaddy traditional cs college grad, climbs mountains, now on discovery team at wefunder Why did you become a software engineer?because I liked studying it, liked the classes, liked the way it made me think, liked the friends I had in the dept. was really about the academic part of it at my school, never really thought about a careerWhat do you like most about coding?I like the way it makes me think — taking a big problem and breaking it down into smaller parts and then building it back up in a way that can be reused and automated. It’s like solving a puzzle, figuring out all the ways the pieces fit together. It’s a cool way of working your brain.ParkerFounder, then business dev employee, then engineer on money masters team at wefunder Why did you become a software engineer?mostly bc i didn’t want to be a doctor but i had a biology degreeWhat do you like most about coding?I guess I like the creative problem solvingCyrilTraditional cs grad (+ masters) now on money masters team at wefunder Why did you become a software engineer?Lol. Well, I always wanted to create websites back in school :)And then after I managed to make my first few static web pages, I started wanting to also automate a lot of things around the process just to save time and also to be able to show some dynamic dataWhat do you like most about coding?I like protocols, rules, getting things work to with each other, creating architectures that are flexible to changes and stuff like thatapart from realisation that my output ideally saves time for at least some peopleLanaPreviously a teacher, now on eu team at wefunder (also a new mother!)Why did you become a software engineer?I became a software engineer because I like solving problems with software, and because creating something pretty and functional feels good. Is that a long enough answer?ThomasStart-up founder turned account manager turned engineering intern at wefunderWhy did you become a software engineer?when I was working on a previous startup idea with my college friends before Wefunder I didn’t know how to code, and I couldn’t build the ideas in my head which was wack. Had to rely on other engineers to get stuff done (at first it was shitty dev shops). Once I started teaching myself I also realized its extremely fun and I decided that’s what I want to focus on 🤘Hope you enjoyed hearing from our engineers! Here are some lessons you could have learned after reading this article:You don’t need to go to school to become a software engineerIt’s easy to switch careers - even into engineeringIf you are good at something - why not make a career out of it?It’s okay to want to a job for the moneyCoding can make lives easierEngineers don't care about grammar or punctuationWho had the best slack photo? Who had the most engineer answers? Leave your thoughts in the comments below 👇🏼