Robert on Software Development

Not too long ago, I was working with Microsoft Excel and had to write some macros. I finished up my work in Excel but left it open, and several hours later, I came back to my computer and the Visual Basic code editor was still open, minimized along with Excel.

Seeing that Visual Basic window minimized to my desktop brought back a wave of emotion and memories. About 14 years ago, I started working at a crappy mortgage services company. I was 20 years old, futureless, prospectless, but not hopeless. I was making $6 an hour as an administrative technician (I created WordPerfect and Lotus documents). I had heard about this thing called Visual Basic, which allowed you to easily create programs for Windows. I had written BASIC code a lot in high school, and I knew a lot about computers, so Visual Basic sounded very appealing to me. It was my chance to actually enter a career, and I was quite passionate about computers and technology.

I went to the mall and bought Visual Basic for Dummies. It was so Dummied that it didn’t show how to do some important things (for example, showing a form; for a while, I used form1.Visible = True and form1.Visible = False to show and hide a form, but I eventually discovered form1.Show and form1.Hide) but I didn’t know any better. My wife and I were quite poor, so we didn’t own a computer. But I was determined to learn Visual Basic and get a job as a computer programmer. I read that book over and over, at least five times, cover to cover. I memorized every little detail, wrote code on paper to practice my style, and dreamed daily about my chance to be a programmer. I would even hide out in the bathroom at my job and read the book, imagining myself writing code for something important.

Someday.

It’s weird to romanticize computer programming, but that’s how big it was to me. After I left the mortgage company in January 1995, I went to work at a utility company in Austin, where I was responsible for creating an Excel workbook that tracked all the materials ordered for building substations (exotic, I know). It was then that I got my first chance to code in Visual Basic, writing macros for this huge spreadsheet.

And here I am, almost 15 years later, realizing the success that I started with that Dummies book so long ago. I could be a pessimist and say I haven’t gotten anywhere, but truthfully, I’ve accomplished all of my career goals. I’ve been promoted all the way to architect, I’ve published books, I’ve led teams, I’ve shipped products, I’ve traveled, I’ve been offered speaking engagements, and best of all, I’ve helped other young people get started in this business.

I’ve had my fair share of failures, too. Internet companies, technologies (OS/2? What was I thinking?), missed opportunities, and I’ve learned from them all.

So now when I look at that little minimized window, I feel appreciative for what I have, and the opportunities I’ve been given. Now, I want to do something truly great.