1983 Pertec Computer Corporation (MITS)

At 18, I went to work for Pertec (who had bought MITS/Altair) and was a QA that programmed myself out of a job.

Back from Illinois (first semester of College), I had to work to pay for school. So at 18 I went to work for Pertec part time (they had bought MITS of Altair fame: the first Microcomputer). I started "at the bottom" QA (Quality Assurance), as I didn't have a degree (and they had snobs). But I kept writing utilities, games and tools in my spare time that was showing up their programmers, so they let me go.

ℹ️ Info

~ Aristotle Sabouni
Created: 2003-05-05

History

The first "personal" computer was by MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), and their ALTAIR 8800. MITS was acquired by Pertec. Pertec made peripherals; floppy drives, tape drives, instrumentation control, and so on. They were making a 68000 based super micro-computer; a multi-user micro. I figured this was great, a hot computer, and working for a piece of Americana. And I'd done some hardware QA and QC at Brunswick; so why not try Software QA? I gave that a try.

I QA'd their networking systems, their file systems, and their user account systems, and quickly had hundreds of bugs I was tracking version to version. Their programmers didn't tell QA what they had fixed, so we just had to re-run all our tests every new build. So I invented my own automation scripts to validate all my open bugs (before this was really a "thing"). Because I'd coded my own solution, I had a lot of free time -- and the other QA there weren't technically savvy enough to use my system or want to learn how. So I kept programming.

The long and short of it was that I worked really hard at making it work, but I wasn't motivated to "just" do Q.A. I wanted to code and help the company make good products more directly.

I could out code most of their coders, but corporate politics were such that I'd never be allowed to code. This flabbergasted me, at the time, but over time I sort of got it.

The team I worked for wanted me to do Q.A., anything else was "beyond my duties". But I'd do my duties (I wrote automation scripts to do all my work, before that was a thing), then I had time. So I wrote games, utilities to extend the OS, did pen-testing before that was a thing (and wrote up all the vulnerabilities), and then would not only write up the bug in the OS but the fix, "in line 55 of xxx file, you're not bounds checking the variables -- add these lines to fix it".

I didn't have a degree, and I hadn't paid the dues to be that "uppity". So instead of getting a motivated coder at bargain basement prices, they let me know that they wouldn't need my services. I happily moved on.

Conclusion[edit | edit source]

I learned a lot about companies. Working up in some organizations can be a very long and tedious process or politically imprudent. Generally, it is easier to hold out for what you want before you go in, rather than to try to shift after you get in. Or at least, only accept a job that is something you'd be happy doing indefinitely; even if it isn't what you ultimately want to do someday. Now this isn't true for all companies, but it is for some - and I was a lot warier after that. I also learned not to take a job based on what others thought I should be doing. Not settling has been tough at some times, but it has made me a better employee for the organizations I have worked for. And when I've gone in, it was full force.

One other key learning is that if you have a centralized paging system, you should make Mike Hunt and Richard Tingles (who goes by "Dick") change their names. Every time those guys got paged, I couldn't stop from giggling.

I helped one friend (JTP, "Jim-the-Pervert") get a job there (working in shipping/stocking).

It was still a good experience to have in my past. I kept bumping into these people, and others, around in the area over the years. I also learned that the industry is small. Even though I left, they fully understood why, and knew that I was a hard worker; so I'd got good references over the years. I was really mad and frustrated at the time, but I'm glad that I didn't burn a bridge or vent on my way out. They were professional to me, and I was to them, and I don't regret that at all.

Lessons[edit | edit source]

PCC • [2 items]

Dating at work
They say that even animals know not to shit where they eat; or in less vulgar words, that you shouldn't date out of the office pool. I'm not one to learn lessons the easy way; so I tried it. Twice. In all honesty, when you are a work-a-holic or just a modern person that works a lot, how are you going to meet people? My experiences weren't bad, but I can see how they could have gone very badly

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance is a bit of an oxymoron, as quality is never assured. I spent a lifetime doing Software Quality Assurance one summer. After that, my dealings with QA, and appreciation for what they do has never been the same. I'm a better programmer than QA person, or at least I was at the time: I prefer to fix things than just fine things. And so I wasn't a fit for Pertec, and that culture is partly why Pertec is no longer around.