I was lucky to start working in electronic design at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences, DSIR (now GNS) at the start of the 1970s when digital technology was maturing and the microprocessor had just been invented. I was largely self-taught and have “surfed” the digital wave ever since – designing and building computers including my own (before home computers were a thing), and involved in a broad range of research areas including the atmospheric monitoring system at Baring Head which was the first sampling site in the southern hemisphere, and an important contributor to what we now recognise as global warning.
We developed our own modular computer for use in research which was also used by other research organisations and even some home computer enthusiasts. This was eventually supplanted by the invention of the IBM PC and Apple computers.