[gameprogrammer] Re: Welcome new members!
- From: Vince <uberneen@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 14:51:23 -0800 (PST)
I was in an interview once where this company had brought in their lead
programmer, who was generally underwhelmed by my resume. What got his
attention was that I was self taught and had been programming for several years
just because I wanted to.
I think that kind of passion goes with the territory, and without it a person
is likely to be miserable in programming, regardless of their education.
I was too busy raising kids or doing crazy things like enlisting to bother with
college, but several of my friends did. One in particular studied computer
science and specialized in programming. He was one of the few people I could
talk to about my hobbies without getting a blank stare.
I like to use him as an example of the quality of higher education being in the
hands of the individual. He went to college without expecting to magically be
given the qualifications for his trade. In many respects he did what we did,
he just paid a lot more for it and probably had access to resources and people
that made it a little bit easier.
Vince~
--- On Thu, 11/18/10, Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [gameprogrammer] Re: Welcome new members!
> To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 10:05 PM
> To add my same story to the pile...
>
> I too am self taught, with no college degree.
>
> In high school I spent all my time coding games and apps
> for fun / to
> learn and read tons and tons of books on all sorts of
> various subjects
> in the computer science world.
>
> I'm just now hitting my 10 year mark as a professional
> programmer, the
> first 5 years were business programming jobs, and these
> last 5 years
> i've been working as a video game programmer.
>
> I'm currently working at a huge company in seattle and
> loving it (and
> am preforming comparable to my co-workers with degrees).
>
> Tons of personal projects over the years lay unfinished
> just like you
> guys, I sort of feel like they were learning experiences
> that helped
> me learn enough to get to where I am at today (:
>
> On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 1:57 PM, Richard Sabbarton
> <richard.sabbarton@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> > What I find interesting is the similarity I see with
> my own career. I
> > am also self taught and also have a vast array of
> stalled projects
> > (learning experiences) that never really made it off
> the blocks. I
> > didn't go on to college or university and have worked
> my way up to a
> > Lead Tech role in Operations for a Software Company.
> I don't write
> > code for a living but I do work with the development
> team regularly.
> >
> > For me, the most difficult thing is motivation to
> complete a project.
> > When you hit a problem or writers block or even coming
> back to
> > something after a break it is hard to make the time.
> In fact, I would
> > say that the chatter on this list is a regular poke to
> get me going
> > again and help me remember that the reason I am doing
> this is because
> > I enjoy it.
> >
> > Just my 2p...
> >
> > Richard
> >
> > On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 8:54 PM, Harrington, Timothy
> > <tharrington@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> >> Thanks - I actually saw it as inspirational and
> refreshing as well as eye-opening for the younger audience.
> >>
> >> Thanks again, Vince!
> >>
> >> Tim
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> On Behalf Of Vince
> >> Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 1:51 PM
> >> To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >> Subject: [gameprogrammer] Re: Welcome new
> members!
> >>
> >> I don't mind if you share it. As I read over it
> again I think it sounds a little depressed, which wasn't my
> intent, but the facts remain the same.
> >>
> >> Vince~
> >>
> >> --- On Thu, 11/18/10, Harrington, Timothy <tharrington@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> From: Harrington, Timothy <tharrington@xxxxxxxxx>
> >>> Subject: [gameprogrammer] Re: Welcome new
> members!
> >>> To: "gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx"
> <gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >>> Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 6:11 PM
> >>> Vince, there is a great story of
> >>> lessons learned in this "novel" of yours -
> would you mind if
> >>> I shared it with students. I'd of course
> change your name to
> >>> protect your innocence! I'm often asked to
> talk to high
> >>> school and early level college students about
> pursuing
> >>> programming, and programming for game and
> simulation
> >>> especially. Your story really tells the
> reality of the
> >>> pursuit best.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks in advance,
> >>>
> >>> Tim Harrington, Ed.Dc.
> >>> National Assistant Dean
> >>> College of Engineering and Information
> Science
> >>> DeVry University
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ---------------------
> >> To unsubscribe go to http://gameprogrammer.com/mailinglist.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ---------------------
> >> To unsubscribe go to http://gameprogrammer.com/mailinglist.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > ---------------------
> > To unsubscribe go to http://gameprogrammer.com/mailinglist.html
> >
> >
> >
>
> ---------------------
> To unsubscribe go to http://gameprogrammer.com/mailinglist.html
>
>
>
---------------------
To unsubscribe go to http://gameprogrammer.com/mailinglist.html
Other related posts:
