This week, we welcomed a new Senior Consultant, Michael Nero. He’s a multiple time resident of Austin, most recently moving back about a year ago for a consulting position at ProAce. Before that, it was a year-long stint working on a Foreign Exchange product called Velocity at Infusion Development in New York City….
…New York City?! (Now, commence Pace Picante commercial re-enactment)…
And before all that, several years of bouncing between Beaumont and Austin for various school and work opportunities.
Anyway, we had a great time talking about living in New York, dirty subways, and you know, some work stuff. Here’s the rest:
Are you an expert at anything?
I’m a good C# developer, and I know quite a lot about the .NET Framework, most specifically threading. I’ll stop short of calling myself an expert at anything though, just so I don’t preclude the possibility that I may learn something new.
Who is on your list of ideal clients to work for or individuals to work with?
I’m unreservedly dedicated to clients I can help the most and who’s work benefits someone other than themselves.
What led you to software development?
It was by accident, really. When I was younger, I really wanted to be a Microsoft Technical Support Representative, which I thought was the highest echelon of achievement – we’re all young once. Having thwarted my mother’s attempts to make me a C++ programmer when I was freshman in high school (my version of teenage rebellion), I finally gave in to her ever present delicate pressure to pursue an Electrical Engineering degree at university. Part of the curriculum for an EE major was a few CS classes, and in my first CS class, I learned that hey, I was pretty good at writing code. So, I stuck with it.
What did you learn first?
My university’s curriculum taught Managed C++ for the first year, then we moved to Java for the second year, then we were free to use whatever language we liked best after that.
Do you like teaching?
I like it when people get excited, and people are always excited about learning something new.
What does your team rely on you for?
My positive and no-challenge-is-too-great attitude, I hope. My teams have always been brimming with super smart people, and alone, there’s nothing to stop any one of them. But together, we can create something truly beautiful. So, I guess I’m a good cheerleader.
For more info on Michael, contact him on twitter: @neroware