If you completed your major in a non-CS aligned field in undergrad, and got into programming later on in grad school or job, when did that change happen? More importantly, why and how?
When and how did you start programming coming from a non-CS major in undergrad?
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Re: When and how did you start programming coming from a non-CS major in undergrad?
#2I was an aerospace engineering washout. After a tough couple of semesters looking for direction, my counselor said there's a computer degree called Computer Applications, but it can only be your second major. Fine. I paired it with Economics, and got down to business writing report programs, which was a helluva lot more fun than trying to figure out the monetary mumbo jumbo that never could mirror reality. My best courses were taught by a businessman who taught us more just by being himself than by being super intelligent. A typical 'high level thinker who didn't want to be bothered by details' manager who maybe was a good programmer, but was probably in a managerial position just because he hung around longer than everyone else. Anyway, a neighbor of the family spotted a bulletin board notice about the need for programmer/analysts. I was hired by a state agency tasked with implementing a wage information collection system for Unemployment Insurance. The state had hired Arthur Anderson for the bulk of the staff, and a couple 'off the street' programmers. Me and a guy who grew up in adjacent farming towns sat at the desktop PS2's, cracking jokes about this job versus shoveling sh*. It was a blast, mainly because I finally realized that goal of feeling like I belonged. Pretty soon, I was pointing out errors in the consultants' code, laughing about my own screw-ups, and forgetting that this was originally a backup plan.