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from ad hoc methods to more scientific methods for software development began
to expand widely.
None of the programmers in my group at the Public Health Service could be
hired in today's world. None of us had computer science or software engineering
degrees (universities were just starting to offer computer engineering degree pro-
grams), and none of us even knew how to program when we were hired as pro-
grammers. Our main assets were nothing more than a working knowledge of how
the Public Health Service operated and our ability to pass a fairly straightforward
aptitude test.
This unusual period started in about 1950 and lasted until about 1970. Before
1950, there were very few professional programmers. After the 1960s, computer
science and software engineering graduates began to enter the workforce in suffi-
cient numbers so that liberal arts majors were no longer actively recruited.
Although on the surface liberal arts majors would not seem qualified for soft-
ware engineering jobs, many were extremely capable and had long and successful
careers. In retrospect, the breadth of knowledge that liberal arts graduates, musi-
cians, and writers brought to software often created elegant and efficient programs.
In following up on these programmers from the early 1960s, some left soft-
ware, and some stayed in programming and became lead or chief programmers.
Some entered management and even became software executives. Some became
entrepreneurs and started software companies.
Some of us did more than one of these things. For example, I was a software
executive in a Fortune 500 company, started two software companies, and even
filed a number of patents on software inventions.
A strong software engineering background today definitely makes work easier
for the first year or so. After that, on-the-job experiences become more important.
After perhaps a dozen successful software projects, academic credentials are no
longer major career factors.
The same is true in other fields. A solid educational background is certainly
critical for a surgeon performing the first few operations. After perhaps 100 oper-
ations, on-the-job knowledge augments academic knowledge.
The computer programming occupation grew from a few thousand at the start
of the decade to almost a million at the end. Very few occupations in human his-
tory have grown so fast.
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