Welcome To My Blog!

Hey there! I'm Mark, a Postgrad student studying Information Technology (IT) at The University of New South Wales (UNSW). I have previously completed a bachelor's degree of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) at The University of Sydney (USyd). To the left, you can see a photo of me from my graduation day for my bachelor's degree. Maybe another year or two and I'll have some photos when I (hopefully) graduate from my master's degree too.

This blog post is just a short introduction about me and my website. To add more to my self-introduction, I'll talk about my inspiration for moving into IT. In my first year of uni, I completed a programming unit which was my first ever contact with the world of coding. Fast forward a few years to my thesis, which I completed to graduate with honours. My thesis, titled "Using Numerical Reactors to Understand Autoignition", was the next time I had immersed myself in programming, and over the year, I slowly started to realise that I seriously find coding interesting and that I may have picked the wrong degree to begin with.

In fact, it's quite fortunate that I stumbled upon coding in my thesis, because initially, my report was supposed to involve physical experiments and results, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the plethora of restrictions placed on in-person activities, I was limited to a strictly coding thesis. So, fortunately, the pandemic led me to making my serendipitous discovery that I like coding, which has further led me to pursuing my passion by enrolling into IT as a postgrad. Aaaand this is where I'm at now. It's been two thirds of a year (or two trimesters) and I've enjoyed every second of it. It's definitely a challenge, but then again, what uni degree isn't? In saying that, this is a challenge that I am prepared for, and so I'm strapping myself in for the next 1-2 years.

Now, what are my plans with this website and what are my plans in general? Well, regarding the website, I'm not entirely sure. I at least know that I will definitely use this platform to display my coding projects. As for the blog, maybe I will check in every now and then, posting updates on my progress with my degree, and maybe I might also discuss some interesting findings through any of my research (side note: I plan on completing a PhD after the master's degree and so I'm taking it upon myself to read research papers every now and then). Regardless, I think the main purpose of this site is to act as a portfolio to 'sell myself'. The plan is that my prospective employers may use this website to learn more about myself, and if all goes well, at that point, I would have added a wide range of projects to this site, which should help me become more employable.

Regarding my general plans, over the next year or two, the master's degree will be my main focus. If I average 2.5 units per trimester until the end of 2024. I should have completed 14 out of the required 16 units of the degree (I have already done 4 units and there are 4 trimesters left till the end of 2024, so the calculation is (4 + 4 * 2.5 = 10)). Some extracurricular stuff I plan on completing are:

• At least one LeetCode challenge per day (the daily challenge minimum + any mote I have time for).

• A variety of personal or group projects I can work on during my downtime.

• Possibly, some uni related projects; UNSW is always advertising student led group projects that we need to apply for. I might try to apply for 2024.

Currently, I'm on a 15-day streak for the LeetCode daily challenges and in total I've done 37 problems all up just because I've been on uni break for the past 2 weeks. I'm also working on a simple calculator that outputs your percentage result required of the final exam/assignment to obtain each grade (P, C, D and HD). That leaves the uni related project, which I plan on applying for at some point during this week.

Otherwise, another goal that's on my radar but not absolutely critical at the moment is to score an internship or job at some IT company. The reason why I say 'not absolutely critical' is because I know I am currently not at the required skill/knowledge level to excel in these roles. I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn. By achieving the goals I have outlined above, I will get to where I need to be, in terms of skill and knowledge, in no time.

Anyway, to wrap up this first post, I'll just reiterate that I am extremely excited to see where this degree will take me. The world of computer science covers a variety of interesting topics that are just waiting to be explored, and this degree is going to help introduce me to this world. Once complete, who knows where life will take me, I just know it will be somewhere I definitely enjoy.