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Karim Amin
Senior
Software Engineer, 27
WebCTel, Cambridge
 Karim
has been interested in computers since kindergarten,
though he didn't have his own until he was a freshman
in college. In class, however, he said, "I
would do some programming in my free time,"
especially making games. "I wanted to build
things, too, not just program." The Boston
native (he attended school in Marble- head through
the Metco program) ended up getting a bachelor's
degree in computer science from Worcester Polytechnic
Institute, and he also studied electrical engineering.
He graduated in 1994 and first became an independent
contractor because "I liked the idea of working
for myself," then he worked for several large
software companies. in 1999 he joined WebCTel, an
internet software application development company
that provides technology and graphics services to
businesses. It is minority operated, and also helps
promote minority training and hiring by working
with inner-city nonprofit community centers. For
Karim, much of the appeal was being at a small company
where there would be more variety, where he could
make more of his own decisions, and where there
would be "a bigger potential for growth."
He set up the company's intranet, helping the employees
share files, work from home, access documents and
databases, and update files, creating "a paperless
office." Although Karim studied computer science
in college, he said "school didn't teach most
of what I needed to learn; I just picked up some
books." As for current instructional material,
he said, "Now you can get everything off the
Internet."
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