How I became interested in computers
It all started with an Apple Macintosh II… or was it the Macintosh Classic II?
I was about four years old. I don’t remember the circumstances, but basic typing skills were introduced at my school. Exposure to Windows 95 and 98 followed. At 12, I gained access to a Dell laptop―something like the Inspiron 5100―running Windows XP. It became my playground. When my 40GB HDD was running low, I examined root files for wasted space, inferring which were unnecessary. How could they be important files if I didn’t understand their names? I was almost universally wrong, summoning the Blue Screen Of Death. Friends would reinstall Windows, and the cycle would begin again. Eventually, I learned what probably shouldn’t be deleted―as well as what definitely shouldn’t be deleted―with some command-line arguments along the way.
High school introduced me to other computer geeks. They taught me to use Tor to access the dark web. MySpace let me experiment with HTML and CSS. I explicitly refused to use a Facebook account when I couldn’t customize its markup. We used PortableBox and proxies to subvert school network restrictions, drafting a senior prank to password-lock the BIOS of the library computers. We held LAN parties and ranked the top RGB lighting configurations in our builds sourced through NewEgg. We launched private forums to anonymously express teenage angst and posted edgy digital artwork on DeviantArt. We shared programs with 256 MB USB drives and installed unreleased versions of Windows someone’s uncle had shared… or something. We played D&D, competed in Botball tournaments, and spun glow-sticks listening to Darude. We were were kids.
After high school, I started working full-time. I didn’t realize I could build on this experience and turn it into a career―I didn’t have an influence in my life to tell me it was possible. The only memory I have of family members with regard to computers is anger―anger for me spending too much time on them, and the incitement of fear upon the expression of that anger. I thought computers weren’t something you could “do” as a job. I didn’t know any better, and I didn’t ask.
In college, I didn’t know there was such a thing as a Computer Science degree. I didn’t know there were many types of jobs, for that matter. I knew of lawyer, engineer, and doctor. I didn’t care for any of those, but my childhood friends said they chose Pre-Med, so I did, too. All this time, I was building basic websites by experimenting with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript without realizing they could relate to a job. My plan was to attend medical school and become a Navy Flight Surgeon, despite little interest in my coursework. A program manager handling interns at the Cleveland Clinic told me I couldn’t force my way through medical school by power of will. I had to be interested in the content. But I wasn’t. So I didn’t. Thus I fully entered the workforce with no particular skills, no certifications, and with a degree that no one cared about.
After college, I went to work at The Home Depot, Office Depot, the Cheesecake Factory, and a few others. I began to educate myself in my free time. I learned more about the world and how it works, first through blog posts, then podcasts, then books. While working overnight shifts, I thought of what trade I could teach myself so I could obtain a better job with more opportunity. The list was comprised of auto mechanic and web developer. Whenever I had an extended break in my shift, I would use Codecademy to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Eventually, I moved to Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning). After networking in the city, I landed my first web development internship. It was unpaid, so I split my time between interning and working at minimum wage as a shop hand for an aluminum fabricator. After work, I would continue studying. Months went by before I had enough skills for the web marketing firm to justify paying me. But eventually, they did, and I became a full-time employee.
Working with computers became my job. It was a job that I didn’t know existed. If I could re-do my path, I would have moved in this direction much sooner. But I can’t. Even if I didn’t make it early, I made it, as I’ve discovered a fulfilling career.
Interested in the whole story of how I obtained my first job as a web developer? Read about it here.
