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How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple [Books] By James Marcus Bach (Gizmodo)
programmers starving in the streets of Sunnyvale?" No, actually there's lots of work Submitted at 11/26/2009 8:00:00 PM available. Would I like a job at James Bach, a legend in the Apple Computer, for instance? software-testing field, just "Sounds wonderful. What kind of published Secrets of a Buccaneer work is it?" All feelings of burn-Scholar, the tale of how he out were instantly replaced by a dropped out of school, became a blazing electric neon YES in my self-taught games programmer, heart. and scored a sweet gig at Apple Computer needs me. Apple—all before turning 21. Needs me. I am being called to The book's main purpose, as service. illustrated by the excerpt James The job was managing a team of has kindly permitted us to testers. p u b l i s h , i s t o s h o w h o w "What do you mean, testers?" I education is not about pieces of asked the telephone. paper on the walls, but the The recruiter explained that knowledge you cram inside your t e s t e r s e x a m i n e a p r o d u c t o w n h e a d . H i s b o o k i s a someone else has created and discussion of his mindframe as find problems in it. he embarked on a life of self- "They pay people to do that?" education, as he became what he Interesting. I'd always tested my calls a "buccaneer-scholar." own work. Then again, I'd never Here, in a riveting passage, he worked on a team with more than manages to swing a gig at the two other people. In terms of the hottest company in the Valley, software industry, I was a crazycirca 1987: eyed mountain man. In May of 1987, nearing my On the way to Apple I bought a twenty-first birthday, I was down c o p y o f T h e O n e - M i n u t e to my last hundred dollars, and Manager. It looked thin enough the only marketable skill I had for rapid learning. I skimmed it was for [programming video as well as I could in the hour games,] something I could no before the interview. longer force myself to do. Walking into Apple may have Then a recruiter called. She'd been the first time I ever set foot found a resume I had sent months inside an office building. First before. Would I like a job in t i m e s e e i n g c u b i c l e s a n d Silicon Valley? conference rooms. First time "I thought the industry had taken seeing a carnival-sized cart of a d o w n t u r n . A r e n ' t t h e r e free hot popcorn parked in a
hallway. Imagine working near the smell of melted butter! (Your eyes sting and you come to hate the smell of butter, it turns out.) I'd been worried about my
them and showed the portfolio of games I'd worked on. When they asked me about management, I repeated some of what I'd read in The One-Minute Manager. When they asked me about testing, I said what every programmer says: "I've tested my own stuff." Its not a good answer, but I didn't know that. Neither did they. No one in that room knew much about software testing. There are no university degrees in it. It's one of many new crafts that have emerged along with modern technology. After the interview, I went outside and walked twice around the building. This is where I belong, I thought. I will rock this place. Please please please hire me. A couple of days later, they did. *** I was a nervous man on my first day at Apple. At twenty, I was the youngest manager in the building. In all the gatherings and reorganizations we went through during the four years I worked there, I never met a younger manager. I was younger than many of the interns. Also, I was a contractor. That meant Apple could fire me without notice or severance. I had clothes. I didn't own a suit. But little money and no credit. looking around, I fit right in. The worst thing was that nearly Everyone was dressed like me. everyone around me had a Two guys in a conference room asked me questions. I answered HOW page 13