[A86] Re: [OT] ACZ?
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[A86] Re: [OT] ACZ?
ACZ was started when all of the members were actively doing calculator
development, and had copious amounts of free time to work on such projects.
Most of us have full time jobs now, and/or go to school full time.
Calculator programming is fun, but it doesn't pay the bills. But at the
same time, it teaches valuable skills that are beneficial in other areas.
I know that Rusty is doing GBA development now, though just for fun. So is
Matt Johnson. Incidentally, he and I just got back from DEF CON in Las
Vegas. It was definitely a fun weekend, and we both plan on attending next
year, if anyone wants to meet up. Programming for GBC or GBA is certainly a
lot of fun, and a good learning experience, but you can't expect to make any
money at it.
Something that a lot of people don't understand, that took me a while to
understand, is that making money is about business, not about technology or
anything else. If you want to make money at programming, and by making
money I mean enough to support yourself, then there are a couple of ways to
do it.
First, get a job doing programming. That's not always easy to do,
especially when you don't have experience, and even when you do get one, you
won't necessarily be doing exactly what you want to be doing (but it's
probably better than the local grocery store, right?). You have to be
willing to compromise in some cases, and not always work on the most
interesting projects. Often companies will choose products and solutions
based on marketing reasons (i.e. "no one ever got fired for buying
Microsoft"), and you have to just accept that. Or you have to work with or
interface to legacy systems that aren't what you would like but can't be
avoided. Or because your manager happens to think something is cool for no
explainable reason, or you work for a large organization that has policies
that you would be lucky to understand, much less change. You have to
remember that they are paying you, but at the same time can't be afraid to
speak up when you don't understand why something is the way it is, and think
it could be done better. Getting a job doing GBA programming is difficult,
since most places will want experience, usually on previous commercial
titles. Plus you have to live where there actually is a GBA development
house (like California).
The other way to make money is to work for yourself. But you can't expect
to just write something and somehow sell it to people and make lots of
money. You need a business plan. Doing contract work as a consultant is a
way to go, but you have many of the same issues that you have when working a
regular job. Although you have the option to not take a contract you don't
like (assuming you don't need the money). However, you end up having to
deal with the business end of things, and have less time to spend for
programming. Things like finding contracts, talking to clients to find out
what they want, supporting users, understanding and dealing with taxes and
legal issues, documenting everything, etc. This stuff is not trivial and is
much more work than most people realize when starting out. It can
definitely be rewarding, but is much different than going to a job everyday
where just get to write code.
I have some experience with this stuff, so if you have any questions about
getting a computer job, or working as a consultant or contractor (I've done
all three), feel free to email me.
> To any member of ACZ:
>
> What is happening to ACZ?
> The site is down and it seems like ever since Virtual GBC was released,
you
> guys have been pretty inactive.
> Are you doing any development for the GBA?
> Please let me know what's up because there's a part of me that idolizes
you.
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