[freedumb2003]

I am an Information systems Engineer with 5 years enterprise experience. I have 3 microsoft certifications and manage 15 windows servers, exchange, VPN, firewall (Sonicwall Certified) and all of our routing and networks.

5 whole years? Jeeze. I have a desktop that has more years than you. Heck, I have CHEESE in my freezer with more time than that.

I started in 1977. I have lost count of my Microsoft Certs -- I can get one in 24 hours by doing a class and then doing the Cert course. I get them as needed by my upcoming assignments. I have been tech leader of installations for companies with 200,000 employees and 10+ billion dollars a year. I have 4 servers in my upstairs office (2 linux, 2 Win 2K/XP Pro).

Trust me, you don't want to point to your 5 whole years of experience again (at least here in FR) as some sort of proof you are anything beyond diaper trained.

[dubie]

My little experience still qualifies me to have an opinion... =) I don't like Vista...

[JCEccles]

Heck, I have CHEESE in my freezer with more time than that.

Give it a little more time and a lot of blind chance. Maybe it'll evolve into a frenchman.

[dayglored]

>> I am an Information systems Engineer with 5 years enterprise experience...
> I started programming in 1975...
> I have CHEESE in my freezer with more time than that.

Alright, you guys got a headstart on me with the comments tonight, but I'll jump in. At severe risk of getting flamed, here's the highlights:

1970 - FORTRAN engineering sims and P-CAP on a B5500 (keypunch)
1973 - PDP-8 assembler, paper tape, TECO
1974 - First pro job, research electronics designer.
1975 - Heard about the Altair 8080, scrapped own 8-bit 7400-TTL computer design.
1976 - Bought KIM-1, Tek 4010-1 graphics CRT, TinyBasic in ROM. 6502 assembler.
1977 - Wrote much graphics and utility software for 6502. First national code publication. First use of Apple-][.
1978 - First self-designed/built home computer. 1979 - Real-time industrial controllers, 6800 assembler.
1980 - Added core planes (64KB) to home computer.
1981 - Joined aerospace firm as engineer, became defacto sysadmin (a pattern to be repeated for the next 25 years).
1982 - First IBM-PC, 8086 assembler.
1983 - DSP-based geosynchronous spacecraft attitude control sensor for Intelsat.
1984 - First use of VAX/11-780, VMS, email. First of many Macintoshes.
1985 - 80168-based industrial process controller. Got first UNIX minicomputer, learned UNIX.
1986 - Wrote first complete interactive shell and utility suite. Programming in C.
1988 - Independent consultant, various projects.
1991 - First use of Windows.
1992 - Designing early PCMCIA hardware, software.
1994 - First use of NetBSD UNIX.
1996 - Engineering LAN of NetBSD and Win95. Wrote first website (handcoded HTML of course).
1998 - First of many iMacs.
2000 - First of many Linux boxes.
2001 - H/W+S/W for FireWire ext. hard drives.
2002 - First OS-X usage.
2003 - First use of Exchange. Wrote and deployed first corporate website.
2004 - Start lurking on FreeRepublic.
2005 - Sysadmin for hybrid network of BSD, Solaris, Windows, OS-X machines. First MacMini. Joined FR and started posting.
2006 - Running small (<1000 users) international corporate network for cutting-edge system software company.

So guys, even though I don't have an MSCE (never needed one), can I play, too? ;-)

[Labyrinthos]

5 whole years? Jeeze. I have a desktop that has more years than you. Heck, I have CHEESE in my freezer with more time than that. I started in 1977. I have lost count of my Microsoft Certs -- I can get one in 24 hours by doing a class and then doing the Cert course. I get them as needed by my upcoming assignments. I have been tech leader of installations for companies with 200,000 employees and 10+ billion dollars a year. I have 4 servers in my upstairs office (2 linux, 2 Win 2K/XP Pro). Trust me, you don't want to point to your 5 whole years of experience again (at least here in FR) as some sort of proof you are anything beyond diaper trained.

BFD. I invented DOS, WIN95 and its progeny, desktop computers, the internet, and office networking while on a tequila binge back in 1980. Unfortunately, when I drink tequila I tend to get a little loose in the lips, and just my luck, Bill Gates was sitting on the bar stool next to me where he carefully wrote down on the back of a napkin every word that I spoke. The rest is history. BTW, I also own 1,346,211 patents, 266,970 copywrites, 11,999 trademarks, and I just saved money on my car insurance by switching to Geico. In addition, on my 40th birthday, I climbed Mt. Everest while walking backwards, blindfolded, and completely naked.