Tech Talk: A Career In Computer Programming
 | Author:
Victor Sample
Vic Sample: MT43 News Treasurer |
A Career In Computer Programming Victor Sample Many people know that I grew up here in Townsend and graduated from Broadwater High School in 1970. As a fourteen-year-old freshman in high school, I decided I wanted to be a mathematician. I pursued that goal by researching colleges and, of course, studying mathematics. I selected the University of Washington and enrolled in the Mathematics Curriculum in 1970.
However, an odd thing happened in my last year at the University of Washington; after almost 8 years of working towards a degree in Mathematics, I discovered computer programming. I absolutely fell in love with computer programming.
I eventually took a job with the Montana Power Company in Butte as a “scientific” programmer – doing programming for the electrical engineering and gas engineering departments. I loved my job, but my heart was in Broadwater County. For several years I looked for programming jobs in Helena that would allow me to do the work I loved, but live in Broadwater County. But, in the late 1970s, there were very few programming jobs in the entire state of Montana.
I eventually left Montana to pursue a career in the software industry. I worked for several large, international software companies as a programmer, manager and as a Director of Product development. I ended my career working for IBM in south Florida.
I saw the Software Industry grow from a relatively small number of companies focusing on IBM Mainframes to a vast industry producing software for Mainframes, Unix Computers, PCs and smartphones as well as Gaming Devices and other devices like DVRs, Bluetooth devices, etc.
Of course, in today’s world, I could work remotely and live here in Broadwater County – the one place I have always called home. As a Director of Product Development at IBM, almost a quarter of the product development team worked remotely – wherever they wanted to work.
Have you ever thought about a program or an improvement to a program that would make your job or your life easier? Perhaps you are a gamer and have thought about writing computer games. How about an app on your smartphone that could do something you want to do?
None of those things are impossible for YOU to do! Computer programming is a skill like any other skill; it can be learned if you have the desire to pursue it.
In today’s world, there are literally no barriers to learning computer programming. If you have access to a PC on which t you can install software, you have everything you need. All the software you need to write computer programs is FREE.
A recent article I read said that over 60% of college graduates regret the majors they chose and wish they had chosen a different major. The majority of them would choose Accounting or Computer Programming. Just yesterday I read an article about the continuing growth of jobs in the software industry. It is not too late to think about a career in programming. In Helena, a few years ago, a company named Sofi was hiring ENTRY-LEVEL programmers starting at $80,000 a year and you get to continue living in this region.
I was recently asked about doing an introductory programming class through the Old Baldy Adult Education program. The purpose of the class would be to help you evaluate whether you might like to do computer programming.
Watch for an announcement about the Old Baldy Adult Education program planned for winter.
