Mike Stowe

Video games helped me escape the unpleasant reality of the home I grew up in. I always dreamed of making my own games and sharing those positive experiences with others. However, my parents made us move away from home and all the good people I knew. We went from smart schools to stupid ones. I was alone and miserable and my mind was rotting.

I graduated from college in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in computer science. I applied to some games companies, but only got an offer from a small startup doing automation work for virtual machines. I decided to take it, which started my career.

After a few years of that I'd had enough. I used the money I saved to buy a house. I switch from automation developer to code mentor (on a different platform). I invited friends to move in with me, which they did, but we all had different expectations and I was getting miserable again. I kicked them out, sold the house, and retreated to my family.

My family made everything worse. Eventually I was able to move out again. I got a job with Bank of America doing more automation development work. I was happy in my apartment... until the bank asked me to move. I should have known better. I upended my own life again.

Things came to a head with my family this year. We are no longer in contact. I am going through a lot of changes. I'm sick of the soulless corporate world and would like to get back to helping real people. I'm scared for the future and tired of everyone lying that they understand what's happening.

Honesty is the best policy. It's not always easy. :)

"Salary" will vary depending on the type of project. I don't mind getting paid little to do little, just don't underpay me. I'd like to say I can be paid a lot to do a lot, but I am a bit rusty and should probably not get too ambitious at this point in my career. I'm looking for meaningful projects that I can help push forward or maintain, not the endless spiral of stress and moving targets I've seen in corporate environments.