My first real job.  Returning from the Peace Corps, and unsure of what to do next, I answered an HP advertisement in the paper for a computer programmer.  I had only taken one course in computer programming at Stanford, but I figured Why Not?  At my interview they explained that it was very difficult to find applicants who majored in Computer Science; the next best major was Mathematics (my major).  I was pretty much hired on the spot.  

Then they asked me, What sort of programming would I like to do: Systems or Applications? I had no idea what these were, and asked for more information.  After listening to the explanation, I flipped an imaginary coin in my head, and chose ... Application Programming.  I was offered a salary of $1,000 a month, an amount far greater than I expected, and my career in Computer Programming had begun.

I worked at HP's Computer Division in Cupertino, writing software for HP's timeshared Basic systems.  Each system supported 32 teletypes simultaneously, and were installed in elementary schools providing math drill and practice sessions to the students.  The first system was installed in East Menlo Park; subsequent systems were installed in Watts Los Angeles, and elsewhere.  It was a very successful program, the first of its kind, and the HP founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard liked the idea of HP getting into the business.  And I liked working with the kids and their teachers.  

A side note: next to the Computer Division is HP's Advanced Products division.  There was a rumor going around that the division was working on a computer small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.  "No way!" we in the Computer Division thought.  "It's a crazy idea of Bill's.  But it's his company, so I guess he can have his pet project."  And then the Computer Division released the HP-35, a the world's first calculator that could indeed fit in your hand.  We were flabbergasted.  The HP-35 sold for $395 in 1972.  Despite the high price (equivalent to about $2000 today) the HP-35 accounted for more than half of HP's total profits in its first year.  

I was able to arrange my HP schedule so that I worked Saturdays and Sundays, leaving my "weekends" of Wednesday and Thursday free.  This allowed me to ski on actual weekends, where I rented (along with other employees) a house in Squaw Valley.  Advantages were many: the drives up and back were less of a hassle, the slopes were never crowded, and best of all, the gambling casinos just across the border still believed that no system could beat blackjack - and they were wrong.  You see, the mathematician Edward Thorpe had developed a winning strategy for blackjack, and published it in a 1962 book, Beat The Dealer.  This book came out while I was a math student at Stanford, and I and several of my classmates soon incorporated the system into our math studies.  At HP I was able to put my skills at counting cards to good use at the North Lake Tahoe Nevada casinos.  I would play for a few hours each evening, making small bets, and would usually win just enough to cover my skiing expenses.  

May 17, 1976: HP Evaluation

Fellow employees