I waited to get into computers until building it yourself was no longer required. I was too busy raising kids actually. By the time I went back to college (studied computer information systems) you no longer had to submit your programs on punched cards but could enter them directly yourself.
Wow, a whole whopping 26k of RAM? Whatever did you do with all that memory!
It was tough to fill 26 k. Actually, at the time, it was a waste of money. Each 8 k board cost $440!