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Can I get one for my Titan?
Will Rogers never met me.
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If so what drove the change to do so?
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I'm one.
Attempted to be a 2nd grade teacher in 1988-89. Was double plus not good at it. Went back to college for CS degree.
Been paid to do programming since Nov 18, 1991.
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I worked as a chemist for 13 years, but programmed on the side (self taught). I got bitten by the programming bug back in the early 80's and when I found myself programming at work in the lab, it grew from there. The job market for chemists in the late 90's was shrinking and the pay wasn't great and it was at the same time as the .COM bubble, so I went into consulting. The rest, as they say, is history.
When you are dead, you won't even know that you are dead. It's a pain only felt by others.
Same thing when you are stupid.
modified 19-Nov-21 21:01pm.
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I spent 10 years as an Environmental Chemist and switched to programming while I got my CS degree. 20+ years now writing code.
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Fifteen years as a pharmaceutical industry chemist. Loved the first year of each job; hated the repetitive nature of the job (and the low pay) after that. I was tricked into technical writing by an old girlfriend (eight years of technical writing), then software QA for ten years and now back to technical writing.
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I started out as a photographer but then was seduced by DbaseIII+ and it's shiny appearance to become a database developer, oh how I long for those MSDOS days 
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I did. But it's our own mom n' pop company.
I wrote code and did hardware for various cool tech companies in Orange County California in the 70's and 80's when there was such a thing there. We ran away from that just in time to the high country of Colorado where if you don't do freelance IT you're working on skis and bikes or various other remedial jobs as the is NO Manufacturing of anything but food in a resort town.
I did a little stint of IT within a company of "normals" on the internet and it's a nightmare if you have to be there from 8-5 and they know your name.
We've been at it since 94. When clients get to be a pita we can weigh things in the balance and send them off to be a pita to a competitor. - I love to do that to both parties just for sport. - My wife, not so much. prolly cause she pays the bills. 
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I graduated from a degree in Information Systems back in 1992 and after graduating did not want to work in IT.
So I worked with some friends first in a shop then in a warehouse.
When word got out that I had a previous interest in IT, as well as a degree, one of the directors persuaded me to join the IT team.
That was back in 1997 and since then I did a short stint of manual work but other than than have not looked back and enjoy the daily intellectual challenges that IT brings with it.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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My degree is in Cartography. But while I was in college, the entire map-making industry was revolutionized by GIS software, which at the time, required a lot of back-end customization (programming mostly macros and configuring databases) to make things happen.
That background, and a lucky break in the job market put me into programming - plus I still get to design maps.
Brent
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dbrenth wrote: I still get to design maps
std::map<int, char> design; 
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I used to be a clown. When the circus closed quite a long time ago, given my skills and experience, I got several opportunities as world sales manager or main product developer for big software companies, but I turned down the offers, and being a funny guy with a witty humor, started programming in Visual Basic for the financial industry.
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Started as a mechanical engineer, then moved to IT (networking, DB management, etc...), then C++ development, then PLC and HMI development - now I manage an electrical engineering department and keep my hands "in the game".
All at one company over nearly 33 years. 
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Mike Mullikin wrote: Started as a mechanical engineer...
So you've been designing you're new knees and hips.
Mike Mullikin wrote: ...then moved to IT (networking, DB management, etc...), then C++ development, then PLC and HMI development - now I manage an electrical engineering department and keep my hands "in the game".
So the next upgrades will be including what exactly?
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Michael Martin wrote: So the next upgrades will be including what exactly?
It's all very hush hush. The final truly amazing bits don't get activated until I get my 2nd knee done.
Let's just say that $6 million doesn't even begin to cover it. 
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Mike Mullikin wrote: It's all very hush hush. The final truly amazing bits don't get activated until I get my 2nd knee done.
Let's just say that $6 million doesn't even begin to cover it.
Well I at least hope it is known as Operation Steve.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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I also started as a Mechanical Engineer in the defense industry. Got into Finite Element Analysis and did quite a bit of FORTRAN programming. When the personal computer era started up, I learned assembly programming (my first computer was an Atari 400). Bought an IBM PC when they first came out. I moved into automated manufacturing doing programming using Pascal and C. Then moved on into C++ and now do C# and web app development.
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Started studying Law - met a lot of lawyers, didn't like any of them so switched to Science - a much better class of party.
Did a combined science degree in Astronomy, Mathematics (stats and computing) and psychology (just for fun/filler).
Got a PhD in Computer Science - became a professor of same for three years!
Second career: Got a real job as a developer - never looked back.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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From 1969 through May of this year, I worked in I.T., lastly for a mental health facility (queue the puns, jokes and comments.... ) Unfortunately, I was forcibly retired due to the seemingly imminent adoption of a third-party Electronic Health Record (EHR). Guess what? That still has not happened.
I miss being "in the game." However, on the bright side, I am working harder than ever, and am now in better physical shape, working on my wife's ranch. Here, I fix fence, haul feed, move livestock and so forth.
As you can tell, I live in a rural area. I have found that finding a nearby I.T. job at my age is akin to "Mission: Impossible." No one wants to hire an "old timer." At the same time, they bemoan that all the recent I.T. graduates are moving to the cities. 
__________________
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now.
© 2009, Rex Hammock
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kmoorevs wrote: You should be enjoying your well earned retirement!
Retirement??? There is just no way I could enjoy sitting around doing nothing!
I had a sweet gig where I could go to an office and do my hobby for eight hours, five days a week and, believe it or not, they would actually pay me for it!
__________________
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now.
© 2009, Rex Hammock
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I'm 2 days away from final retirement from 30+ years as a developer, it is weird feeling that I won't have targets and deadlines and meetings and all the bullshit that goes with the job. I've been working 10 days in a month for the last few months.
I retire to Cairns where there is no IT industry to live on an acreage, not quite a farm, but there is lots to do outside. Looking forward to it.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity -
RAH
I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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I was in diapers when you were already in IT. The recruiters already started telling me that I'm old...
I love goats! May I have a job at your farm?  ))
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Holy crap! I had to do the math twice! 
Wow, 49 years! You should be enjoying your well earned retirement! ![Beer | [beer]](https://codeproject.freetls.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/beer.gif)
