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holland01

Member

Registered: 2011-12-22

Posts: 50

Programming in the Airforce (U.S.)

Has anyone had any experience programming in any section of the military before? I'm curious about getting a job as a programmer in the airforce: I know a fair amount about low level programming currently such as hexadecimal, a basic understanding of memory models -real flat vs. segmented vs. protected, etc; an ability to read assembly (learning how to write it currently), and I have a basic understanding of O.S. implementation. Not enough to actually write one from scratch, but enough to get started in terms of studying it further.

The reason why I ask is because it'd be cool to know what others have experienced in terms of their careers. I.e., what kind of projects had been undertaken, how hard it had been to actually become a programmer in the airforce, the lifestyle in terms of their overall enjoyment working in the military as a programmer (was it fun? did you find the work meaningful), etc.

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 19,802

Re: Programming in the Airforce (U.S.)

I've not been in the actual military, but I've written a lot of code for contractors.  You see the usual stuff.  A whole lot of C and C++.  There are some clueless projects written in MS Visual Basic dot net.  Some FORTRAN.  Not much Ada anymore.  Not much Python or Ruby.

It depends on what you are doing.  You really need to get a handle on  testability, requirements traceability, and proving that things are deterministic.  Especially for things where lives are at risk (flight controls, cryptography, weapons authority, etc...)

Last edited by ewaller (2012-07-04 20:26:36)

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Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
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holland01

Member

Registered: 2011-12-22

Posts: 50

Re: Programming in the Airforce (U.S.)

Do you have a degree, if you don't mind me asking? The reason I ask is mainly because I'm curious as to how much of an advantage having a degree is/is not these days, at least in the C.S./E.E. field.

Last edited by ewaller (2012-07-04 20:38:02)

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 19,802

Re: Programming in the Airforce (U.S.)

BSEE + 25 years of professional experience as a practicing engineer designing hardware and writing embedded code.
Edit:  I hire a lot of people.  I almost always insist on a BS.  A non-degreed engineer with 5 years experience is worthy of consideration.  If someone does not have a high school degree, they need not apply.

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Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way