I had a software consulting business for over 10 years. Did quite well. Not that it's relevant to anything.
In reality I think the question that Delta's friend posed to potential employees was to get them to open up and reveal something about themselves. I wouldn't really answer in the way I did. But on the other hand, in my line of work I wouldn't consider that an appropriate question.
FWIW, when I went to work at a defense contractor back in 85, I was the key man in winning and completing a $15M contract. The biggest contract that they had won to date. I was put on the proposal within a couple months of signing on. And I revised the computer design to lower costs by $5K a unit, which was critical to the win. Critical to the extent that the DOD awarded the contract to GE and then had to retract the award because of our price difference.
They neither would have gotten the contract without me. And they could not have completed it in the required time frame without me. Even though they were a fairly large firm with a lot of engineers, the simulator software requirements were way outside their skill set. At the time they interviewed me I had no idea that I would be responsible for them winning and completing their largest contract to date.
OTOH, I had help. They had the facilities, an experienced proposal department, hardware engineers, and manufacturing capabilities. No man is an island.... right?
edit: Oh yeah, forgot to mention that in 1981 I taught myself how to program computers, set about writing a commercial video game in my spare time, then quit my job to finish it so it could be published. Went on to write several more published games. Google "Rally Speedway".
Last edited by fly135; 07-25-2012 at 1:38 PM.
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