From the Other Side of the Runway

I grew up on a farm near Portland International Airport. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of my grandparents taking us to the airport overlook on Marine Drive to watch airplanes take off.

I remember watching them climb into the sky, wondering where everyone was going. Were they headed somewhere tropical? Visiting family? Starting a new adventure?

My grandma especially loved watching the planes. Funny enough, she never actually flew. She was too afraid.

And for a long time, I understood exactly how she felt.

Fast forward a few decades, and somehow that little girl watching airplanes from the side of the road has found herself working in aviation technology.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle.

Learning a Whole New Language

After spending 14 years in healthcare, I transitioned into software engineering. I expected to learn programming languages, new technologies, and how to build applications.

What I didn't expect was to find myself learning an entirely different language: aviation.

Aircraft maintenance, engine positions, maintenance records, rental engines, inventory management, operational workflows. The list goes on.

At first, it felt like drinking from a fire hose. Every conversation introduced another acronym, another process, or another question I hadn't thought to ask.

One of the surgeons I worked with during my years in healthcare said something that has always stuck with me:

The more you know, the more you don't know.

At the time, I understood what he meant in the context of medicine. The more you learn about the human body, the more you realize how incredibly complex it is and how much there is still to discover.

But I've found that his words apply just as beautifully to aviation.

Every time I learn something new about aircraft maintenance, engine operations, or the technology supporting the industry, I discover five more things I want to understand.

And I think that's what I love most about learning.

It's not about becoming the smartest person in the room. It's about staying curious enough to recognize how much you can learn from everyone around you.

What started behind a computer screen has now taken me to air shows, aviation events, and conversations with people who have spent their entire careers in the industry.

I've found myself wanting to understand not just the software, but the aircraft, the maintenance processes, the people, and the businesses behind them.

Somewhere along the way, aviation completely captured my attention.

From Healthcare to Hangars

One of the biggest surprises has been discovering just how much healthcare and aviation have in common.

Both industries depend on safety, precision, documentation, and communication. Both involve complicated operations where small details can have significant consequences.

In healthcare, I spent years learning how teams work together, how processes affect outcomes, and how frustrating it can be when technology makes an already demanding job more difficult.

Aviation has introduced me to many of those same challenges, just with a different vocabulary.

Instead of patient records, I'm learning about aircraft and maintenance records. Instead of coordinating clinical workflows, I'm understanding how maintenance teams, operators, and administrative staff manage aircraft and engines.

The industries may look completely different from the outside, but the underlying challenges are surprisingly familiar.

And that's where my healthcare background has become an unexpected advantage.

I don't just want to know whether software works. I want to know whether it makes someone's day easier.

When Software Doesn't Fit the Industry

One of the most fascinating things I've learned about aviation is how unique each company's operations can be.

Two businesses may work in the same industry and still have completely different processes, customers, equipment, and operational needs.

And sometimes, even the largest software platforms don't offer exactly what a business needs.

That's where custom software becomes exciting.

Through our work at NJC Enterprises, we've had opportunities to build maintenance and operational tools that address gaps left by larger, established platforms. Rather than asking a company to completely change how it operates to accommodate its software, we've been able to develop solutions around the way its people actually work.

That can mean creating better ways to manage aircraft and engine maintenance, track equipment, organize operational information, or connect processes that previously required multiple systems and manual work.

It isn't always about building something enormous or revolutionary.

Sometimes the most valuable solution is a simple feature that eliminates a repetitive task, reduces unnecessary steps, or gives a team information when they need it.

And sometimes, it's building an entirely new platform because the right solution simply doesn't exist.

Good technology shouldn't dictate how a business operates. It should help that business operate at its best.

As companies grow, their needs change. The software that worked for a small team may not support a larger operation with more aircraft, more customers, or increasingly complicated workflows.

Custom software gives businesses the opportunity to grow without constantly fighting the limitations of their technology.

For me, that's one of the most rewarding parts of software engineering: seeing an idea turn into something people genuinely use.

Finding My Place in Aviation

Moving from healthcare, a predominantly female industry, into the traditionally male-dominated worlds of software engineering and aviation has been a unique experience.

But I've discovered there's something exciting about having so much to learn while bringing a different perspective to the table.

I may not have spent decades working around aircraft, but I bring years of experience understanding people, processes, and the importance of getting the details right.

And I'm finding that those skills translate surprisingly well.

Attending aviation events, meeting industry professionals, and learning from people who know far more than I do has only made me more excited about what comes next.

I love hearing how people got started in aviation. I love learning how their businesses operate. And I especially love discovering a problem and thinking, I wonder if we could build something to make that easier?

There's something pretty wonderful about finding a new passion when you weren't even looking for one.

A Different View of the Sky

I still think about those afternoons on Marine Drive.

My grandma watching the airplanes. Me wondering where they were headed. Neither of us knowing that aviation would eventually become part of my professional life.

For years, flying was something that made me nervous. Now, I'm finding myself fascinated by everything that happens before an aircraft ever leaves the ground.

The maintenance, the engineering, the coordination, the technology, and the countless people working behind the scenes.

Learning more about aviation has given me an entirely different appreciation for it. And I keep coming back to that surgeon's words: The more you know, the more you don't know. The older I get, the more I appreciate just how true that is.

I didn't leave healthcare behind when I became a software engineer. I brought those experiences with me. And now I'm discovering how they can contribute to an industry I never expected to love.

I don't know exactly where software or aviation will take me next...

But for someone who once preferred watching airplanes from the ground, I'm pretty excited to find out.