I mentor a good number of younger software developers or aspiring software developers and I’ve been asked many times when and why I started programming. My answer is the following:

  • I wrote my first program in the Basic programming language on an IBM PS/2 when I was eight years old (1988) and loved that I could control a computer and build software.
  • In 1991 when QBasic came out I learned about the easter egg that you can do when starting QBasic from a DOS prompt. The easter egg showed “The Team of Programmers” that created QBasic. Once I saw that, I told myself I wanted to be one of them.

QBasic Team of Programmers Easter Egg

  • The idea of learning another business industry so I could create software for them excited me. Here are some of the industries I’ve learned through my career:
    • Banking
    • Security (both digital and hardware)
    • Oil & Gas
    • Hosting/Cloud Providers
    • Medical
    • Daycare
    • Salon
    • Restaurant/Service
    • E-Commerce
    • Sports (team and communication management)
    • Construction