During my Junior year at IU, I took a course titled “Introduction to Data Processing”. The course taught wiring of IBM electronic accounting machines. It was an easy ‘A’ for me and I loved it. My senior year I worked half time at RCA in their data processing department.
My senior year the draft board reclassified me ‘1A’ and sent me to Indianapolis for a physical. I tried interviewing for a couple of teaching positions but they all said that they could not hire me because I was going to be drafted. So I enlisted in the Air Force.
A couple of my friends (Bill and Jim Buher) knew that I was interested in computers and they said that I should sign up for an interview with IBM. (The business school had hundreds of companies on campus to conduct interviews each year.) I signed up and met with an IBM representative. I said that I had to go to the service and he said that he was with ‘Federal Systems Division’ and they had not had any trouble getting deferments for employees because of their work with the government.
He suggested that I come back the next day and take their aptitude test. I did, they invited me to Maryland for a full interview, and offered me a job. I told the Air Force that I was not coming and my career was started.
(note: You can research the ‘Draft’ and the Viet Nam war in 1967.)