John Pile Jr.

By: John Pile Jr.
Subjects: Computer Game Development, Computer Science & Engineering

Computer programming grads from Champlain College are in demand. It seems like the college can't turn them out fast enough to fill openings for security experts, video game programmers and web and mobile developers. 

Unfortunately for Champlain, that also means qualified instructors can be hard to find.

Champlain College Assistant Professor John Pile Jr., who teaches in the college's Division of Information Technology and Sciences, is part of a search committee on the hunt for someone to teach mobile development. Only a handful of candidates have applied for the position they currently have open; dozens typically vie for jobs in the school's sciences and math programs. "It's difficult to compete against the technology industry," he said during an interview in West Hall, home of the ITS division.

Pile, 38, handed me a photocopy of Game Developer Magazine's April 2013 Salary Survey that he gives to students. It notes that game programmers have an average salary of $92,151; programmers with six or more years of experience can expect to earn six figures.

And it's not just the money that's attractive; programming jobs at tech companies come with sweet perks, such as tennis courts or an organic café at the office.

Full Article at Vermont Tech Jam

By: John Pile Jr.
Subjects: Computer Game Development

When you hear the word hackathon, what springs to mind?

Dodgy computer programmers breaking into government or corporate websites to wreak havoc?

Well, you are way off. At least when it comes to an event happening in Winooski next week. The Vermont Hackathon is fully endorsed by web-reliant companies and even the state of Vermont. And the hackers involved will be doing good, not evil.

Vermont Edition has tracked down the winner of last year's inaugural Hackathon to help explain the concept. John Pile is an Assistant Professor in Information and Technology Sciences at Champlain College.

Full Story: Vermont Public Radio (VPR) - Interview with John Pile

By: John Pile Jr.
Subjects: Computer Game Development, Computer Science & Engineering

MyWebGrocer hosted a 24-hour hackathon September 16, 2011 at the Champlain Mill in Winooski, Vermont — the state’s first such event – with game developer John Pile taking first place and $5,000 from Fairpoint Communications for his creation of a grocery shopping game.

Participants worked on their own or in teams of two or three people using one or more of MyWebGrocer’s API’s (including recipe, grocery product, mobile, social and advertising web services) to build anything they wanted within a variety of different platforms, including web, mobile and Facebook. Round-the-clock food and beverages were served from local vendors.

Coding carried on through the night and into the next morning, and around 3 p.m. on Saturday projects were completed. Participants presented their creations to the judging panel, featuring local business professionals Rich Nadworny, owner of Digalicious; Julie Lerman, author, speaker and owner of The Data Farm; Cairn G. Cross, co-founder of FreshTracks Capital; Jon Woodard from Wolfram|Alpha; and Tim Kenney, COO of MyWebGrocer.

The $5,000 grand prize award went to John Pile, Team “Chinook,” (pictured with Richard Tarrant Jr.) who created a grocery shopping game using live pricing and nutritional information. The game’s objective is to feed your kids and find a balance between healthy food and happy kids while staying within your budget.

Full Story: Seven Days - Vermont Hackathon