I entered the software industry about 2 decades ago. I was an engineering graduate, but I didn’t have a computer degree.
It was OK, not only because I knew the basics of software making (I was an Electronics engineer), but also because my country was witnessing an unprecedented boom in software outsourcing from the developed Western world.
Knowing to code wasn’t a requirement then. SAT-like analytical skills (multiple choice questions) + basic English (interview) were enough to get one into the IT servicing industry.
I did well on the test. I also managed to pass the interview despite English neither being my native language nor my major language of instruction.
I became part of the then-big-ticket software industry. The annual salary was $4500 (yes, it’s annual, calculated on the exchange rate of the year 2000). But it was more than a graduate could expect, especially in a country ridden by abundant unemployment.
I had no idea how much value I was generating for:
- My employer — who took outsourced software work from offshore (mostly American) clients
- My client — who entrusted my faceless profile with his code worth billions in business
More importantly, I had no idea how those two things were distinct, and often, diagonally opposite.