Back in 2005, I was already an experienced software engineer working in the industry, but my education background (Mechanical Engineering) didn't match the area I love to work: Software Engineering. I decided to take a masters degree to fill up this gap in my education background. I chose the Athabasca University MSc IS program which provided the flexibility I needed to work and study at the same time. I was able to study on my own pace, during evenings and weekends. It is lots of hard work and commitment, but I am glad I decided to pursue it. I learned a lot from the courses I took by studying, working on the assignments and discussing with my colleagues. Even some topics that I was already familiar with, there was always something new to learn.

During this program, I also improved my writing skills a lot. English is my second language and it has been a challenge for me since I moved to Canada. I am taking the integration project route, where I am getting some research experience in specific topics (MDE, business process modeling, business rules, SOA, etc.) and getting the opportunity to work/collaborate with a PhD candidate from another university. It's been a great experience! I am going to finish my program in the next couple of months, and I will miss it. I wish I could take some extra courses as well such as AI, but we never know, I might go back to school after I graduate.

Cheers,
Luis