I graduated from University of Alberta Computing Science in 1999, but have been doing software development since 1997 when I sarted my internship at Telus.
In 1999 I moved to Vancouver to work as the only Java developer for a dot com company developing online, on-demand delivery of full blown PC games. It was very exciting technology, with the core piece being a driver that looked like a CD drive to your PC, but actually read the data across the internet. It would download an initial 20-30 megabytes to get the game started, then predictively download the rest of the game as needed. I really should write about that experience in a separate post as the it was probably similar to most any new technology startup.
After less than a year, they downsized and I moved to another more established dot com, but they didn't really know what they wanted, so 6 months later I moved back to Edmonton. There I started in IT consulting and I have since consulted at Telus, IBM on Wellnet, Sagebrush and Alberta Transportation where I still am.
There was a bit of a dry spell in 2002 so I bought an internet cafe, which was my first real exposure to business. It was probably the reason I went into the MBA program as I quite enjoyed the dynamic environment offered up by being in charge of a small company. The cafe was a great experience, but I had no time to commit to it since I worked full-time, was doing my MBA part-time, had 2 kids and built a 2 story addition onto our house with the help of my dad.
Like most MBA's that I've talked to, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my degree once I graduate. I am content at my current job, though I know I don't want to be a software developer too much longer. I like the dynamics of small companies and the potential for a broad range of responsibilities, and can be quite passionate about the projects I work on.
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