I have seen it stated here a few times, that some of us are encouraging our kids to pursue careers other than what we do. I am wondering if more of us feel that way?

It would be nice - but schools now don't seem to press academic achievement as much as they used to. The vestiges of JFK's initiatives seems to have all but vanaished.

If I was a kid in school - I would be more worried about the prospects of the "impending" draft. In texas we are 49th in teacher's salaries and 49th in academics. Being lucky means we have to means to move into a good school district.

But even if everything was idealic - and I am sure you have figured this out - we have moved from an "innovation" culture to a "consumption" culture. The only thing that seems to break a youngster out of the "consumption" day dream is the fear of losing their reproductive huevos in a far off land (the draft).

Why be concerned about a career when the future is measured in months and not a life time!:)

The computer stuff in Clark's "2001 Space Odessy" and the cheap GUIs in "Star Wars" got me exited. When I realized I could turn SW development into a "cottage" business and that I could work alone - I took my meeger math skills and began reading. For a couple of years I was writing code on yellow tablets- finally I lucked into "jobs" where there were actually computers.

I still ask the question: Am I smart enough to succeed - or to stupid to realize I am "not" smart enough!:-). So I took pragmatic approach. Smart people learn quickly, in a short amount of time - so all I have to do to emulate a smart person is spend a lot more time on the subject.

It hasn't been the same since.

Youngsters like the "?" mark in the command window to check their algebra. I once tried to excite my oldest with a book, "The Black Art of Game Programming" - the book is gathering cobb webs in book case! But it does have some nice antiques on the included CD (The original DOOM 4 level demo and Nuke Nukem!).

Outcasts probably choose software as a career more than those who can flow in the groove!:) I needed to be independent - the young uns close to me don't seem to need that feeling as much as I did!:)