I owe my career to these forums.
I'd always been interested in computers growing up. Since the age of 8 or 9 I was obsessed with tinkering and exploring, and I took every opportunity I could to play with any computer I saw. Growing up, I kept a keen interest in programming and understanding how pieces of hardware and software 'fitted together'. I wrote several (bad) QBASIC programs, most notably 'Space Warrior', a repetitive space shmup with limited mechanics and flickery graphics (I don't think QBASIC's graphics API let me do any kind of double-buffer rendering). For my GCSE in electronics, I took the unusual route of programming a PIC controller in what was, retrospectively, a crude, stack-based assembly language.
But I stopped. Somewhere along the way I convinced myself that programming was outside of my capabilities. Perhaps I was burned by my attempts to program in C++ without the help of the internet and only a few snippets of tutorials I managed to read up on the school computers. Or maybe my other academic goals took over; by the time of my A-levels I'd decided I wanted to go into academia in the humanities. In any case, software was something I talked about passionately, but never pursued.
My plans took a diversion in 2010, though. With the recession in tow and trouble finding work before my planned (and abandoned) postgraduate studies, I found myself with a room, a poorly specced laptop and a lot of spare time. I'm not sure exactly when, but at some point the thought of modding FFVII crossed my mind and I made my first, tentative post on these forums. Somewhere along the way I learned I could gain a great deal from AI scripting, and began programming again for the first time since my teens. With the release of LiBrE (embarrassingly written in retrospect), I'd taken baby steps in my first 'proper' language, Python.
This didn't lead directly into a career as a software developer. But when I'd exhausted my options as a technical writer, then UX designer, my hobby led me to the conclusion that I always wanted to be a programmer. It was with some trepidation, as I still believed I might not succeed, but once I started (as a front end developer) my progress was rapid and my job satisfaction transformed my life. It's egotistical to say, but it became clear pretty quickly that I was an exceedingly strong engineer - much, much more than I'd written myself off as - and once that was recognized my confidence and self-esteem - and much more, my sense of worth - could grow properly.
And so, here we are now. As a self-taught developer I've still a lot to learn and do. And the field I work in has turned upside down over the last three or four years, with new technologies emerging every day. But wherever I go, my path will have started here - a little spark, in 2010.
