I used to think programming was the neatest thing in the world.I used to think programming was the neatest thing in the world. From the day I first saw a computer, in sixth grade at school, I knew I wanted to be a programmer. My dad got me a portable in 10th grade, and I took every computer course offered in high school - a total of four - and majored in it in college. I got a job with a small consulting firm right out of college, and I loved my work. Then, I got an offer from Uni-Tec that I couldn't refuse. Four times my salary, with relocation costs, a subsidized luxury apartment, and a company car. No one could have passed it up. But, Uni-Tec almost crushed my delight in programming. I was brought in as a Programmer IV (of seven regular grades), and everyone of V and below worked on the third floor in a room the size of a football field, divided up into U- shaped clusters of cubicles. My little cubbyhole was nothing more than three and a half walls, a desk, a CRT, and a shelf for references. Not even a phone! And, I never wrote a program the whole time I was on that floor. Pieces, yes. Subroutines. Functions. Code segments. But not whole programs from beginning to end. And I hated it, but I couldn't leave. Actually, I could have, but I loved my car and my apartment, and Uni-Tec was the highest paying company in the area and I loved my salary. |