My name is Wayne Coburn, and you have obviously found my blog. Welcome! I hope you enjoy it. I currently work as a product manager, and any thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
If you’re still reading, here is a little bit more about me. I am a San Francisco bay area native, and I’ve lived my entire life in California. I grew up in a little town called Visalia, went to college at the University of California, Davis, and graduate school at the University of California, San Diego. I have a bachelors in physics and a Ph.D. in astrophysics. I love understanding how things work, and I especially love the night sky.
After a handful of years as a scientist, I decided I was tired of writing proposals and waiting for someone to die so I could have their job. So I got a job at an online bookseller called Amazon.com. I was a developer, writing mostly C/C++, Python, and BASH scripts. After five years as a developer, I was given an opportunity to become a product manager. So I gave that a shot.
As a developer, I was completely self-taught (my only formal programming course was FORTRAN back when I was studying physics), and I was unable to compete with computer science grads coming out of places like UCB and Stanford. But as a product manager, I was able to shine. As it turns out, my data science background, experience as a developer, and general business sense, coupled with a strong desire to build things customers want, is a good combo for a product manager.
I identify as a “jack of all trades,” but I don’t mean that as a brag or in self-deprecation. I have a lot of hobbies, and I am good (but not great) at many things. My hobbies include amateur radio (my callsign is W6YNE), amateur rocketry (I am L1 certified), technology, running, hiking, exploring, parenting, and learning. I am always learning.
I plan to write about all of those things in this blog. If you don’t know me in real life, this blog will probably be boring and not for you, which is fine. While I hope you enjoy it, ultimately, I am writing this for myself.