About Dana
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.
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7/15 2013
Begin Work at Web Management Solutions
Early in 2013, I was approached with a business proposition to start a website design and development
company. The basis of this company would be to build front-facing websites for clients, as well as
backend applications and mobile apps, mainly using the SaaS (Software as a Service) model.
In July of that same year, I put in my notice at my previous employer and jumped in full force, and
we have been going strong ever since.
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12/22 2011
Graduate from Georgia State
In December 2011, I graduated from GSU's Robinson College of Business with a Masters in Business Administration,
including a concentration in Computer Information Systems.
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9/26 2011
Begin Work at Smith & Carson
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!
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7/5 2010
Begin work at ClassyQ Solutions
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.
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8/15 2007
Begin MBA at Georgia State University
Georgia State University's business school, the Robinson College of Business, consistently ranks among the top business schools in the country.
In 2013, the part-time MBA program was ranked in the top 25 in the country by Bloomberg Businessweek, and ranked #11 for public schools.
This program requires a mandatory concentration (and an additional 15 hours to the already 45 hour program). Initially, I chose finance because
I wanted to figure out the stock market, but once I found my love for computers and programming, I switched to CIS (Computer Information Systems).
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6/1 2005
Begin Work at UPS
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.
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5/15 2005
Graduated from The University of Georgia
The start of my journey - I graduated the University of Georgia with no clue what I was going to do. I earned a B.S. in Psychology with a minor
in statistics. I had initially chosen to study I/O Psychology, but UGA wait-listed me for their PhD program. In the interim, I chose to take an
internship at UPS in the industrial engineering department practicing my statistics....and wandered away from Psychology forever...
DANA AFT