Modern Maker Aeon Williams writes computer code for Spark Photonics, a member of the AIM Photonics manufacturing institute, which helps design photonic devices and circuits that are miniaturized onto the surface of a semiconductor chip.
Printable version of Aeon's career pathway.
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As a homeschooled student, Aeon had the opportunity to take a programming class at age 11, which focused on game development. She says it was the first time she really had an idea of what her future career might look like.
Meanwhile, Aeon's interest in Gaming increased skills in areas like Critical Thinking and Concentration, among others.
“I didn’t know what programming was until I took that class,” she says. “But after that, I knew that I really wanted to do programming for the rest of my life. I pursued it at a high school program at a local college, called the DigiPen Institute of Technology.”
These early experiences and interests led Aeon to pursue undergraduate studies in computer science.
She worked in game testing as a way to make ends meet. But while she enjoyed gaming as a hobby, she said the technology was not allowing her to use her full potential.
Aeon says she's building her skill sets every day in the world of photonics, where her job is evolving on a daily basis. She has to force herself to take breaks because her job doesn't feel like work.