My Timeline
Welcome to my site. My name is Dana Aft and I am an amateur pool player and web developer. I decided to combine my two passions by creating this website, where I hope to not only learn and develop as a player and programmer, but where I can also share this beautiful sport with the world, and maybe help give it some of the light it deserves.
In need of a website? Visit my company's website or contact me directly. You can also view my demo website or look through my portfolio.
Since I was nearing the end of my MBA program, I began looking for a full-time PHP developer job. I ran across a job listing that seemed absolutely perfect for my skills. During the interview, I was told that they would need somebody to start immediately, so I agreed to start off as a contractor until I graduated, then I would go fulltime.
This was an interesting position, as I was the only person in the company who really did development (besides my boss, who was the CIO, and rarely had time to actually sit down and program). The company itself was a private investigation firm, looking to develop software to assist the industry. Overall, it was a great learning experience!
ClassyQ Solutions was my first attempt at learning to code. I had been working with databases for many years,
and luckily had not only on the job training, but some database classes as well. However, while working at UPS, trying
to play pool, and in the middle of my MBA program, learning a new skill kept falling through the cracks. So I did
what any sane minded person would do - I quit my job and opened up a shop in the guise of an actual business. I definitely
learned a lot, not only about running a business, but website development and design.
The month after I graduated from UGA, I began working as an intern in the corporate office of UPS. The company had just implemented a new system
that was supposed to help the package cars be loaded more efficiently. I was charged with the task of understanding why it was working in some
locations and not working as well in others. Fortunately, UPS is a very data-intensive operation, and, tooled with my statistics techniques, I was
able to come up with at least some semblance of a justification. Low and behold, UPS believed my funny math, and offered me a job as an industrial
engineer.
I spent the next year and a half as a management trainee working out of the corporate office, until they moved me out to the district, promoted me, and called me a time study coordinator. In this position, I essentially told the centers how long a driver was expected to take to do their jobs, given the number of packages/stops they had on their car for a given route. It was all pretty interesting stuff, so it's amazing that my eye wandered towards a new field - programming. I fell in love, and lost my "passion" (err....) for studying time.
Welcome to my site. My name is Dana Aft and I am an amateur pool player and web developer. I decided to combine my two passions by creating this website, where I hope to not only learn and develop as a player and programmer, but where I can also share this beautiful sport with the world, and maybe help give it some of the light it deserves.