John Donlan:  

After going to Essex Catholic High School I went on to Montclair State College with the intention of becoming a draftsman or something to do with the mechanical drawing field. I had taken a half a year of typing and a half year of mechanical drawing as Essex -- both of which served me well later in life. At Montclair State college I majored in Industrial Arts, and came away with a B.A. and a K-12 teaching degree for Industrial Arts. It was in my junior year at Montclair State when I met my wife and we were married. I proposed to her four times before she would accept...... But for me it was love at first sight! I taught mechanical drawing and woodshop at a Junior high in Middletown township New Jersey for a year, and then became disenchanted with teaching (it became more of a babysitting job than a teaching assignment). I worked part-time as a machinist while going to college...... So I fell back on that trade to support my wife and myself for the next 4 years. I became really interested in machines that were controlled by computers, such as lathes and milling machines, etc., and I wanted to learn how to program these. I found an entry level programming job with Dresser Industries up in Stratford Connecticut. I worked for them for four and a half years....... And then for other companies here in New Jersey doing manufacturing engineering work (CNC programming). Eventually I was put in charge of running an inspection laboratory. In 1989 I was introduced to the pro-li...Expand for more