Beldaran
06-27-2002, 08:56 PM
My father is not a computer programmer. He does not have a college degree. He's a customer support representative for Boeing.
About 8 years ago, he got fed up with Boeing's bloated, disfunctional maintenance and customer support database, so he busted out the do-it-yourself manuals and wrote his own program/database that allowed him to keep track of everything more easily. Soon, his office mates were using it. Management noticed it and payed him $10,000 to let them use it company wide. Now my dad's database monitors all the information regarding sales, maintenance, and customer support for the entire Boeing Corporation.
3 months ago, Boeing realized it needed to upgrade the program to accomodate new technologies and policies within the company. They hired a professional team of software engineers and spent over $500,000 to create a new database that would do everything they needed. It sucked.
So they ask my dad for advice. In 1 week he retooled his original code so that the program met all their needs. During this week, he was made fun of by the entire computer department because he was a "newbie", a "hack", and a "wannabe". When it was finished however, management began reffering to him as "wonder boy".
I'm proud of my dad. I'm glad I'm going to college, but it just goes to show you that having an active and engaging mind is more important than having a certificate from an institution.
Go Dad!:pimp:
About 8 years ago, he got fed up with Boeing's bloated, disfunctional maintenance and customer support database, so he busted out the do-it-yourself manuals and wrote his own program/database that allowed him to keep track of everything more easily. Soon, his office mates were using it. Management noticed it and payed him $10,000 to let them use it company wide. Now my dad's database monitors all the information regarding sales, maintenance, and customer support for the entire Boeing Corporation.
3 months ago, Boeing realized it needed to upgrade the program to accomodate new technologies and policies within the company. They hired a professional team of software engineers and spent over $500,000 to create a new database that would do everything they needed. It sucked.
So they ask my dad for advice. In 1 week he retooled his original code so that the program met all their needs. During this week, he was made fun of by the entire computer department because he was a "newbie", a "hack", and a "wannabe". When it was finished however, management began reffering to him as "wonder boy".
I'm proud of my dad. I'm glad I'm going to college, but it just goes to show you that having an active and engaging mind is more important than having a certificate from an institution.
Go Dad!:pimp: