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Geek Culture / Anyone on here program for a profession?

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HZence
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Posted: 7th Dec 2004 23:46
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As in, you have a degree in Computer Sciences or something? If so, lemme know. I have to a graduation project, and I'm doing career research. One of the requirements is an interview with a professional. So, if you can help me out, lemme know.

- Steve


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GothOtaku
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 00:01
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I work as a programmer but I don't have my degree yet.
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Jimmy
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 01:13
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Same, no degree, but work as a programmer.

I bet Jeku has a degree and he's a REAL programmer.


Remember, Jimmy still loves you.
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Damokles
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 01:19
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Quote: "Anyone on here program for a profession?"


I programm for my profession
I create things that I use at work. But I don't have to. It's just more funny.

- Mind the gap -
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Toby Quan
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 02:16
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Jimmy, you work as a programmer? So do I.

I work at the County Attorneys Office in my County as a Sr. Programmer. Instead of a Bachelors Degree, I have a programming certificate from Brown Institute. It was an intense 7-month votech training.

Jimmy, what kind of work do you do?
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Jimmy
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I do Kelly Clarkson fan sites.

JK, I am the webmaster for my boss and his dad. But right now I'm working with a team developing a nice piece of business-oriented software that we plan to distribute.

Can you say $$$$$ CACHING?


Remember, Jimmy still loves you.
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 03:59
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Jeku doesn't have a degree, that's what he's working on right now.
It confuses me.. why exactly do all these course involve people having to interview professionals.

What exactly does this teach anyone?
Meh! Well anyways, i'm sure you can't swing a dead chinook without hitting a number of professional programmers around here.
Question is what kind.. because last time I checked, Web-Based Programming technically comes under Information Technology, not Software Programming.

Atleast that's what it comes under at the job centre last time I was there.

Just like a Databased Programmer technically comes under Data Information Specialist.. however if you were to program the application for accessing the database rather than the database system your considered a Programmer. That said America has different titles for different things.. so god knows what counts.


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Van B
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 05:20
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Yeah, I consider myself a professional programmer, although most of my stuff is Access & SQL databases. My job title is I.T. Engineer, but I have yet to find out what that entails, mostly I program user friendly business systems. I think anyone who programs in a language for their salary can be considered professional.

I think tutors prefer that they ask people with degrees, so that there's no dissidents telling them that on-job experience counts for just as much as that degree; which is fair enough, because a degree is the only way to get a decent salary these days.


Van-B


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Jeku
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 05:27
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Quote: "I bet Jeku has a degree and he's a REAL programmer"


Like Raven said, I don't have a degree yet. I'll be done my last few courses this April, however--- it's so close I can touch it

Right now I'm also doing full-time C# programming for a new company in Langley, so I guess you could call me a real programmer. I was just lucky to be able to program for EA a few times, but to get a serious job in the games industry you definitely need a degree.


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Giles Papworth
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 05:29
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I work as a programmer, at work -> i work in Visual Basic 6, asp, asp.net, visual basic.net, embedded visual basic (for pocket 2003).

At home i am starting to work in c++

I have no degree but i am working towards a 'Microsft Certified Solution Developer'

Its not a bug, Its a feature

If we were meant to stay in this reality games would not exist!
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Toby Quan
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 05:49 Edited at: 8th Dec 2004 05:52
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Quote: " but to get a serious job in the games industry you definitely need a degree."


Perhaps, but did you know that business application developers make more than game developers? I would have thought just the opposite, but no - it's true! Look at the discusson posts for this gamedev.net story. It starts on post 2, and them mine is post 3, but then after that, people discuss how little money real game developers actually make:

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=284144
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:01 Edited at: 8th Dec 2004 06:10
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Heh... i knew that. Most Software Engineers / CGI Artists can make a good 4-5x what Game Developers do.
We're paid peanuts and forced to work ridiculous hours

personally though, i wouldn't trade it for anything
i'd prefer to be poor doing something i love, than rich doing something that bores the poop out of me

[post.edit]

incase your wondering:
Entry Level Programmers...

I.T. Engineers $35,000 p.a.
Software Engineers $45,000 p.a.
Game Programmers $18,000 p.a.

those are base rates usually speaking, you can often push for a good 5-20,000 more depending on how important a project is and how skilled you are.
I've not heard of an Entry Level programmer earning more than $35,000 p.a. ... usually that's what an engineer can earn per job, which can last between a few 4-18months (usually), unless your part of a middleware style firm.

Kinda funny to know we're not just the lowest paid but most kids working fulltime at Electronics Boutique actually are capable of earning more


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Jeku
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:03 Edited at: 8th Dec 2004 06:04
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Yes, I have known for quite a bit that at least here in Canada game developers make less than other programmers. But really, it's a trade-off. I see that you work on databases, and that's really nice if you're into that kind of field. Myself, there's two things I like least in the computer field: networking and databases If I had a job making 55k US a year, like the average game developer, then I would definitely stick it out because that field is my main love.

Once I start having kids and want that huge house with two cars, etc., I might have to consider leaving the games industry. But by that time, I hope I would have been promoted a few times along the way and in a better pay situation than 55k a year


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HZence
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:10
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Raven,

Yeah, I share your sentiments. But, this isn't a class, it's a whole SEPARATE project that we have to do to graduate. I happen to have chosen career research, and they have these stupid, specific guidelines that piss me off.

If it makes you feel any better, I have to SHADOW someone to! Ha! What a joke, as if I want to sit there and watched a season programmer type a bunch of code I don't understand all day. The only way that'd be worthwhile is if this programmer was working on a game.

Anywho, off on a tangent...you don't HAVE to have a degree. Just so long as you work as a programmer (and it's your main source of income) then you program for a profession. So, if you qualify, let me know.

Toby or Jimmy -- here's what I'm looking for, if you're interested. The "interview" is more or less just a set of 10 questions that I've devised. All I have to do is e-mail you the questions (or I guess I could post them here.) One thing that I'd ask is that you give me thought-out replies...this project will decide whether or not I graduate, afterall.

Alright, that's it for now. Thanks you guys, you've been a big help. If you have any more thoughts post them.


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HZence
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:11
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Raven -- just skimmed your latest post.

Might want to look at this: http://www.informationweek.com/682/82casa2.htm, I think your numbers are inaccurate.


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Jimmy
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:20
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Quote: "I think your numbers are inaccurate."


You don't have to tell him, he knows


I wouldn't mind answering your questions. And I promise not to answer like a tard

Email is there below


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TKF15H
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:21
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I'm still studying, but I have a job programming "Document Management Aplications" in VB with Access/SQL. Boring, but it beats asking "Would you like fries with that? Small, Normal, or Large?".

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Jimmy
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:22
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Pico, Mediamo or Grande?


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TKF15H
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Eqinu, Ojekuf, ac Ujejo?

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Dazzag
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I have a computer science degree (1994 ) and have been working as a programmer for almost a decade. What do you want to know?

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dazzag
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 06:51
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Quote: "I.T. Engineers $35,000 p.a.
Software Engineers $45,000 p.a.
Game Programmers $18,000 p.a"
Yikes. Things must have got a hell of a lot worse lately then. Entry level for programmers in my area (travel) has been around $40k for a few years now though (since about 1998). 911 slowed things a bit mind... Haven't actually looked around for a while now.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Van B
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£18k pa is what a buddy of mine started on - that's as an engine developer straight outta university. Not bad for a first job, but I imagine that increased sharply - that was for that cruddy outfit that made State of Emergency - no idea where he is now.


Van-B


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Shadow Robert
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Depends what area of the UK Dazzag, i mean they do translate exactly into £s... so you can just replace the numbers and that's what your area is around, it isn't the equivilant in £s

where I am at the moment is a fairly large company where I'm earning for an entry level post £21,000 p.a. that's for art but generally the pay is similar between the two.

it does rise sharply after you've put in a year or two of work to a company... but if you keep moving companies like alot of people are being forced to recently due to the lack of talent and abundance of skill, the market UK side is kinda in dire straights as far as game companies are conserned.

if you get a job around London or a big city you can expect more, simply because it costs you more to live there.

Quote: "Raven -- just skimmed your latest post.

Might want to look at this: http://www.informationweek.com/682/82casa2.htm, I think your numbers are inaccurate."


Check the document again, that's for adverage wages, based on several years experience. Someone who's been working 5years is worth ALOT more than someone who's entering the market.

If you got more than $45K in your first job out of college/university i'd be quite surprised.


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Jeku
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 10:17
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Quote: "If you got more than $45K in your first job out of college/university i'd be quite surprised."


A buddy of a buddy just got hired to do in-house programming work for Amazon (not on the website, but in the building) for $75k a year. He got hired straight out of university, but I think that figure was a bit exaggerated :p


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billy the kid
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That $75K sounds right to me. A friend of mine got $80K from microsoft straight out of college. The minimum starting salary for a software developer with a computer science degree in the US is about $40K. The average is around $50-55K. This includes game developers. If you want a reliable source: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20040211/olsen_01.shtml. This is just for the gaming industry in 2003.
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HZence
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Posted: 8th Dec 2004 23:21
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Quote: "Check the document again, that's for adverage wages, based on several years experience. Someone who's been working 5years is worth ALOT more than someone who's entering the market."


I know it's the average. And no, that doesn't mean your numbers are right. Think about it -- if the average entry level salary of a programmer was 18,000, the average wage of all programmers would be A LOT lower. (There are tons and tons of "entry level" programmers.)

I don't know if this'll make you see what I'm saying, but I visited a University up North just this past summer. There was a presentation about jobs. The average entry level salary of computer programmer is around $40,000-$50,000. Five years salaries are twice as much - $90,000.

I could live on that...


------------------------------------


Back on subject...

Jimmy, I'll e-mail you the questions when I get home from school. After you've replied so any of the other peeps here can respond for fun. Oh, and thanks for your help...


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Peter H
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 00:46
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Quote: "Anyone on here program for a profession?"

i program for cheese

"We make the worst games in the universe."

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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 01:21
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Quote: "if you get a job around London or a big city you can expect more, simply because it costs you more to live there."
Yeah, good point. Was only skimming the post.

I remember looking at jobs for what I do in the US back in 1997. Team leader with 3-5 years experience could get about $100,000. I have 10 years now, which was about double the income at the time (about $180,000 at the time if I remember rightly). Damn my family and their lack of seeking out new pastures several generations ago!!!! Good olde 911 though put a bit of a wobbler on IT jobs and travel (good combo I chose there), otherwise I would be sunning my self in one of those super cheap (compared to houses around London that is) floridean homes right now.

Out of interest, I thought Jimmy didn't have a degree?

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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HZence
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You don't have to. Just so long as you work as a programmer professionally, that's good enough. I was just mentioning the degree, as it'd be preferable. But not necessary.

Anywho, I know I promised the questions...but I'm heading out at the moment...I'll get them posted here later. Thanks for your patience/help guys.


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Shadow Robert
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Quote: "Think about it -- if the average entry level salary of a programmer was 18,000, the average wage of all programmers would be A LOT lower. (There are tons and tons of "entry level" programmers.)"


but if you notice i posted the difference between software and game programmers, entry level.

there is a considerable difference. it could be said that 'it would pull the adverage down', but when you look at sites that tend to run down different programmers.. they seem to skip Game Programmers and simply believe that they would earn the same as a Software programmer.

it's sad but true.

Quote: "I remember looking at jobs for what I do in the US back in 1997. Team leader with 3-5 years experience could get about $100,000. I have 10 years now, which was about double the income at the time (about $180,000 at the time if I remember rightly). Damn my family and their lack of seeking out new pastures several generations ago!!!! Good olde 911 though put a bit of a wobbler on IT jobs and travel (good combo I chose there), otherwise I would be sunning my self in one of those super cheap (compared to houses around London that is) floridean homes right now."


Dazzag, if you have more than 4years industry experience.. taking a new job stateside, ask your employer to hire you as a 'Skilled' Employee. That way you can by-pass the usually palava of going through a magnatude of things to get your greencard and you automatically get one based on the fact that you'll be working full-time.

The fact that your British (and if your white, with family military/police history) will help speed things up very nicely.
That's how I got mine.


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Jeku
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 06:54 Edited at: 9th Dec 2004 06:55
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Quote: "You don't have to. Just so long as you work as a programmer professionally, that's good enough. I was just mentioning the degree, as it'd be preferable. But not necessary."


Actually, you *do* need a degree to get a job at most if not every game developer If you don't think so, just look at the employment ads. Anyways, if they have a stack of resumes to sift through (and we all know that game developers receive thousands of resumes), and they have to make a choice between two people with equal experience, they will choose the one with a degree. Even if you get hired on the ground floor as coffee boy or a game tester, you won't move up unless you have a degree. That's the crying truth.


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Shadow Robert
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i know of a few companies that don't.. but those are companies built with talent rather than degrees.

problem is it takes a hell of alot more work to show talent than skill


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Jeku
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 07:27 Edited at: 9th Dec 2004 07:28
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Of course there are exceptions to everything, but wouldn't you want to feel safe with a degree knowing that you are hireable by virtually anyone, instead of going out into the unknown without a degree knowing that you might never get hired as a programmer?

Another thing, if you already have experience, you can find jobs easier--- even without a degree. In the games industry, once you've worked at the same company for 1.5-2 years, you're golden. I.E. you can apply at any other game company and they most likely won't care if you have a degree.


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Shadow Robert
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Quote: "Another thing, if you already have experience, you can find jobs easier--- even without a degree. In the games industry, once you've worked at the same company for 1.5-2 years, you're golden. I.E. you can apply at any other game company and they most likely won't care if you have a degree."


ahh the lovely 'experience' clause... how i love that clause
mainly because i'm not even qualified to be a slurpy dispensor in the gaming world.

wish alot more companies were more interested in talent though, then they'd stop hiring these idiots worth squat with a degree!


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Dazzag
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Hmmm, interesting stuff there Raven. Interestingly I am white and actually lived on an American air base for a few years when my dad was in the RAF (Italy). Something to thing about in the future perhaps. Although I always assumed it was well hard to get in without relatives. Something to thing about then perhaps.

As to the degree thing, well I could have done my job without my degree no sweat. Hell, I could have got by when I was 11. Uni just gave me more worldly people skills. *But* if the companies I've dealt with are anything to go by (and this includes personally interviewing and training dozens of people over the years) then a degree is almost essential. Basically is an easy way to filter people out. That and entry tests. Don't get me wrong, we definitely missed out on a hell of a lot of great people over the years because of that attitude, but we didn't get any real stinkers after we stuck to it. Interestingly I probably wouldn't have got the job myself as I am crap at tests for some reasons. But they didn't do the tests at the time, so good for me.

So IMHO a degree is simply a foot in the door. Not much really, and nothing compared to a year or two of real work (I have a "drinking" degree - look it up - and did pretty much nothing for 3 years) but without it the door will be closed.

And my top tip is to start as a programmer, then after a couple of years start sticking up for yourself (and people start respecting you). Then take on more design work, before finally totally ditching programming and becoming a full on project manager. Trust me on this, stupid directors are totally in love with PM's, seem to think programmers have a much easier job, and shower PM's with money. And the only work you have to do is fill in bloody organisers and the like, bill people, then ask the programmers nicely to work *all* the time to meet your deadlines (which are linked to your much higher bonuses). Don't forget to buy them a beer now and again too. And buy them a drink now and again, they stupidely fall for it every time. Once a year or so consider coming in for overtime so the programmers don't steal your kids and mail bits through the mail and stuff. Oh, and they will almost definitely out live you because they have much less stress and get to go home early after visiting a client. Follow my advice (unlike me) and you too will be enjoying a nice time on the beach while I get my b**ls ripped off by clients. Unfortuantly some of us can't drop that programming bug.... fuggit....

Rant over. Ah, that got rid of some built up aggression.... Must get sleep as am doing amazingly stressful sunday workday this week. PM is still on holiday....

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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GothOtaku
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 09:40
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Quote: "
Another thing, if you already have experience, you can find jobs easier--- even without a degree. In the games industry, once you've worked at the same company for 1.5-2 years, you're golden. I.E. you can apply at any other game company and they most likely won't care if you have a degree."

Oh yeah, I know a guy at Cyberlore who started as a programmer (has a degree in comp. sci.) but now works as a designer. He had no qualifications as a designer but they still hired him because he had a few years of industry experience.
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HZence
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 09:51
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Quote: "Actually, you *do* need a degree to get a job at most if not every game developer "


Yeah no kidding, I wasn't talking about that I was referring to the criteria for my interview questions. I don't care if you have a degree or not for the questions. Got me?


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HZence
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 09:55
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Ok all, here's the questions if you wanna answer them "for fun" or something.

1. When did you first learn to program?

2. Why do you enjoy programming?

3. Would you consider yourself a self-taught programmer? Why?

4. What languages do you know? Which is your favorite?

5. What kind of jobs have you held that required you to deal with programming?

6. Do you enjoy the debugging aspect of programming? Why or why not?

7. What independent programs have you worked on?

8. Do you plan to continue programming?


Ausukusa :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
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Preston C
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Ooh, can non pro's answer em too? If not...well you don't have to look in the code box then.



Cheers,
Preston

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Prayne de crabug ahm rinedere be-yogt iglo kes gron
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Ilya
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I'm little. Anyway:

1. When did you first learn to program?
7. When I was 7.

2. Why do you enjoy programming?
Because I make stuff for myself, and it's mine so I'll like it. Programming is fun, also.

3. Would you consider yourself a self-taught programmer? Why?
Yes because I tought myself DBP.

4. What languages do you know? Which is your favorite?
DBP, Delphi, and a little C++. Guess(DBP).

5. What kind of jobs have you held that required you to deal with programming?
None.

6. Do you enjoy the debugging aspect of programming? Why or why not?
Yeah, right. I don't because I go around and fix bugs untill all the bugs are fixed. It'd be better if there were no bugs.

7. What independent programs have you worked on?
Umm..... A couple of them.

8. Do you plan to continue programming?
Yeah.

Quote: "I've seen the word programming and I'm not sure what it means. Anybody please explain?"


Quote: "We shouldn't sacrifice the truth to preserve "balance"."
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HZence
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 11:54
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For reference, Ilya's responses are not what I'd call "thought out."


Ausukusa :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
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Jeku
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Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posted: 9th Dec 2004 11:57 Edited at: 9th Dec 2004 11:58
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Quote: "Yeah no kidding, I wasn't talking about that"


Oops, my bad. Sorry

1. When did you first learn to program?

Around 6 or 7 on the Commodore 64. I still have it beside my computer!

2. Why do you enjoy programming?

I still don't know why, really. I figure it's because it's a logical activity--- one that I could do better than anyone else in my family! When you're young, beating your parents at something is very important!

3. Would you consider yourself a self-taught programmer? Why?

Yes. Just about anything useful I've accomplished with programming i.e. major obstacles, etc. has been because of my own personal research. Before the Internet was around, I was forced to post messages on BBS' or go to the library just to find function examples!

4. What languages do you know? Which is your favorite?

I don't think I 'know' any language 100%. That aside, I have lots of experience with C++/C/PHP/JavaScript/Java/VB/ASP/DBP and SQL if you can call that a language :-P I know I'm missing a few others, but those are the most important.

5. What kind of jobs have you held that required you to deal with programming?

I ran my own ecommerce business between 2000 and 2002 before the president vetoed my vote against hosting pr0n. I got out of there pretty fast when they started doing photo shoots in the office! Almost all of my commercial programming experience has been web-based doing contract work. I also worked on front end programming for Electronic Arts.

6. Do you enjoy the debugging aspect of programming? Why or why not?

That has to be one of my favourite things about programming I honestly enjoy complicated logic errors, where I have to step through one line of code at a time and write down values on paper. I was always impressed by the amount of power that Visual Studio's debugger has. Maybe that is why I've stuck with this coding love all these years :-P

7. What independent programs have you worked on?

Do you mean my own projects? Again, too many to name. But the more recent ones were WordTris and WordTrix. WordTrix has been downloaded well over 25,000 times since July, so I'm quite proud of that one Right now I'm working on GameBasic for my degree project.

8. Do you plan to continue programming?

Hell yeah! I made sure to marry a woman who lets me spend lots of time on the computer, and I seriously can't think of anything more enjoyable or rewarding (besides writing songs for a living--- that would be better).

EDIT: Right now, my language of choice is C#.


--[GameBasic - Coming Soon]-- ^^^ banner generously designed by TheBigBabou
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Dec 2004 16:17
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1. When did you first learn to program?
When I was 10. My Dad made me read the BASIC programming manual that came with the Spectrum before I was allowed to play a game. Strict, but a good idea in hindsight.

2. Why do you enjoy programming?
Dunno. Something about creating stuff yourself I suppose. Read something somewhere about how they reckon it's a power thing (control of something else)

3. Would you consider yourself a self-taught programmer? Why?
Yes. I never did any proper programming course until about 13 years old at school. Nothing they taught us was new to me at the time.

4. What languages do you know? Which is your favorite?
I won't list them all (haven't the time), but VB is my favourite. And BASIC is my favourite language type. I even use a totally unknown (better in the US) UNIX basic at work

5. What kind of jobs have you held that required you to deal with programming?
Just this one. Development team leader. For a decade. Programming, design, implementation, project management, training, interviewing blah blah blah

6. Do you enjoy the debugging aspect of programming? Why or why not?
Depends. If it is at the end of a big development then it is great (all down hill). If it is for a support errorlog, esp. with other people's code, then I can hate it. Nowhere near as good as programming

7. What independent programs have you worked on?
What do you mean? Stuff outside work? Don't really have the time, but some retro gaming stuff, plus a stab at various things such as a Pocket PC adventure gamebook effort. Normally don't have the time or enthusiasm to finish them though. Top tip is to do all this stuff before starting work. You won't have much time or energy afterwards

8. Do you plan to continue programming?
Of course. I get paid very well for what I do. Plus I don't really know anything else. Perhaps project management, as they get paid more for IMHO a much easier job

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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GothOtaku
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Posted: 10th Dec 2004 03:32
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1. When did you first learn to program?
When I was 8 and told my dad I wanted to make computer games. He tried teaching me C but decided it was too hard for me to learn at the time and instead started me out with QBASIC.

2. Why do you enjoy programming?
The thrill of creating stuff that makes both you life and other peoples lives easier.

3. Would you consider yourself a self-taught programmer? Why?
For the most part, yes. While I did learn C/C++ partially at work/school and I learned Perl, Bash, and Matlab at work most of the other languages I know I learned myself.

4. What languages do you know? Which is your favorite?
Let's see... FORTRAN, Pascal, Delphi, Modula-2, Euphoria, QBASIC, Minimal BASIC, Dark Basic, LOGO, Perl, Bash, PILOT, C, Forth, Java, ARM assembler, Prolog, and some Scheme. My favorite langauge is Euphoria since it does *everything* and executes it very fast despite being interpreted.

5. What kind of jobs have you held that required you to deal with programming?
I've worked as a lab assisstant at a reaserch institution since I was 15. I do their webpages, installation scripts, data analysis, data extraction, plotting software, and other odd jobs.

6. Do you enjoy the debugging aspect of programming? Why or why not?
Depends... usually no though. There's nothing worse than going throug h 12,000 lines of code and find out that you left off a '$' on a variable name. However, debugging can be rewarding especially if it requires you to look at things in a new way.

7. What independent programs have you worked on?
I recently wrote a Forth interpreter, a logical programming language similar to the old Turbo Prolog, a CGI frontend to access an online database for a website, and a programming language based on mathematical set theory (all in Euphoria). I also write games in DBPro and worked on a mod for the game Shogo: Mobile Armor Division in C++. I've also written a calculator program in BASIC and then ported it to FORTRAN for use at my work (but wasn't paid for it) since our UNIX machines didn't have a calculator program that I could find.

8. Do you plan to continue programming?
Yes, even if I don't get my CS degree (my university's CS dept. has banned everyone that gets less than a 'C' in calculus so if I don't get it this semester I'll have to switch) I'll still program for a job or even just for fun. I've been programming for more than half my life and don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
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