Programming Suits Me

Someone asked me what I do for a living, which sparked a conversation, which in turn sparked something that made me think.

I told him I am a web programmer, and that I really enjoy what I do. I get some weird looks when I tell people I enjoy programming. It makes me laugh.

Ever since I was I kid, I've always been very interested in how things work. I love it when I learn something in a very logical way. For that reason, I've always enjoyed math and science. I remember in 9th grade we took some test that is supposed to tell you what your ideal career would be, based on questions about what kinds of things you enjoy. My result? Electrical Engineering. I didn't even really know what it was, but from what little I did know, it seemed right up my alley.

At the same time, in my 9th grade year, we had also just gotten our first computer at home. My mom got it mostly for work, and none of us really knew much about them. I really liked it, and wanted to play and explore, but wasn't able to do much with it because my mom was afraid of me breaking it. Totally understandable.

So from there I placed my trust in the career test and planned to look into Electrical Engineering. As I proceeded through high school, I learned more about computers and started leaning toward Computer Engineering, which is about half Electrical Engineering and half Computer Science, or programming. So that's what I did.

A (large) number of years later, I now have a Computer Science degree AND a Computer Engineering degree. Yeah, I'm a geek.

So what do I like about programming? Well, I always thought that programming is pure logic, the opposite of art and creativity. That thought is reinforced by the fact that in college you can get a bachelor of science or a bachelor of arts.

What I've realized, however, is that to be a good programmer actually requires a fair amount of creativity. Every problem that you must solve is just slightly different, and while the logic is truly in the center of a program's operation, it is really the creativity in applying the logic that will make a program simple, efficient, and easy to update.

THAT's why I like programming. It takes both creativity and logic, and I just love to solve problems. Ask my wife. I try to single-handedly solve all of her problems, whether she wants me to or not. (Sorry honey!)

As a side note, you probably looked at my very plain, not very exciting blog and thought, sheesh, what kind of web programmer has a boring blog like this? Well, I do. 'Nuff said.