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From: mink@cfa.UUCP (Doug Mink)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: First meetings ("Programmer")
Message-ID: <174@cfa.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 20-Jan-86 13:11:29 EST
Article-I.D.: cfa.174
Posted: Mon Jan 20 13:11:29 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Jan-86 20:34:36 EST
References: <705@leadsv.UUCP> <130400004@hpfcls.UUCP> <723@leadsv.UUCP> <1572@lumiere.UUCP> <430@ur-helheim.UUCP>
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Lines: 19

In article <1572@lumiere.UUCP> richl@lumiere.UUCP (Rick Lindsley) writes:
>If you are a programmer, are you proud of it? Indifferent? Ashamed? 

I think part of the reason I don't quite feel that programming is an
honorable profession is that there are so many of us around Cambridge
that being one doesn't confer much uniqueness on me as a person.  Since
I tend to judge people in part by the profession they've chosen, I
assume, rightly or wrongly, that they will do the same to me, so I
introduce myself as an astronomer, first, even though my job is
programming.  My image of myself is more as an astronomer (my
educational background and about 1/5 of my work) who programs than as a
programmer who does astronomy.  I am just now, after a year in a job
where my programming skills are much appreciated than in my last one,
getting more comfortable with the idea of myself as a programmer,
mentioning it sooner to new acquaintances.

			-Doug Mink, aging hippy astronomical programmer
			UUCP: mink@cfa.UUCP
			ARPA: mink%cfa.UUCP@harvard.ARPA