In his own words:
I was born 6/8/57 and raised in Windham, New York, in the Catskill mountains. I graduated high school as valedictorian because the other 39 people in my class couldn't spell valedictorian.
I moved to Northern California in 1979 after college and have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since.
Education
Day Jobs:
I worked at Crocker National Bank, San Francisco, 1979 to 1986, in a number of humiliating and low paying jobs: teller (robbed twice at gunpoint), computer programmer, financial analyst, product manager, and commercial lender.
I moved from the bank to Pacific Bell, San Ramon, California, and worked there from 1986 through June 1995. I worked in a number of jobs that defy description but all involve technology and finances. The most recent job was in a laboratory, finding ways to use digital phone lines and also running the company's BBS. My business card said "engineer" but I'm not an engineer by training.
From 1989 until 1995 I worked my day job while doing the Dilbert comic strip mornings, evenings and weekends.
How I Became a Syndicated Cartoonist
Dilbert is a composite of my co-workers over the years. He emerged as the main character of my doodles. I started using him for business presentations and got great responses. A co-worker suggested I name the character Dilbert. Dogbert was created so Dilbert would have someone to talk to.
On the advice of a kind cartoonist I bought a book called "1988 Artist Markets" and followed the instructions on how to get syndicated. I drew fifty sample strips and mailed copies to the major cartoon syndicates. United Media called a few weeks later and offered a contract. I accepted.
Dilbert was launched in 1989 after several months of further developing the strip. That was my first cartooning for profit.
The Dilbert Future: Thriving on Stupidity in the 21st Centiry