Professional FAQs

Below are some questions that I hear repeatedly when discussing my career with others. I thought I'd provide answers to some of these questions in advance.

How did you get from advanced studies in German to software quality assurance and web-related programming?

In 1993, while I was still a full-time Ph.D. student, I started working part-time with the development of machine-translation software. As the software was changed, I was tasked with assessing the quality of the changes. This was achieved by comparing the translation of a set of benchmark texts against previous translations of the same texts. If the quality of the translation improved, then that indicated that the changes to the software were positive and didn't have any unforeseen side-effects.

Based on this experience, Logos Corporation hired me in 1994 to perform quality assurance on the development of their machine translation products. The position required someone with advanced knowledge of English and German, but much of the work was general software quality assurance.

During my first couple of years of work on machine translation software, I discovered that I had a good aptitude for technical skills and that I enjoyed the constant challenges of working in software development. In 1995 or so, I became intensely interested in the World Wide Web. In 1996, I decided to move in the direction of general software quality assurance, specializing in testing of web-related applications. The rest, as they say, is history.

In addition to my day job, I've been continuing to learn web-related technologies in my free time. In 1997, I formed Aphids Communications with my friend Susan Brumbaugh. In addition to making a modest supplemental income, this company has spurred my continued interest in web-related technologies, and given me a place to try them out as I learn them.

What do I see myself doing five years from now (or whatever version of this question gets asked in job interviews)

In general, I don't deceive myself into believing that I can plan my life that far in advance, and I harbor the fantasy that something wonderful and unplanned will come along. But, barring those factors, I usually answer that I expect to be doing exactly what I'm doing now. Some people are surprised that software QA is my long-term career goal (though since I've been at this for 10+ years now, I get this response less frequently than I used to).
I think that surprise has to do with the fact that software QA is not a terribly well recognized discipline; many people in QA see it as a temporary job choice or a stepping stone to something else. But QA is a necessary part of the development process, and I strive to help QA get the recognition it deserves. QA also suits my personality well. (In her less kind moments, my wife tells me I was a natural-born QA person). There's a lot more interaction with people than some programming entails, and I enjoy the investigative aspect of it: the process of figuring what the software should do, whether it suits the users' needs, etc.