I joined IBM in 1957, as part of the Federal Systems Division. I was trained on the SAGE computer (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) and initially assigned to the Custer Air Force Base at Battle Creek, Michigan. After two years, I was promoted and reassigned to Stead AFB just north of Reno, Nevada. At the time, 1959-1963, I lived in Sparks, Nevada, which is where I currently live.
I could not have chosen a better introduction to computers. This picture shows the control room which was at the center of the SAGE complex. Now, remember, we're talking about the late 1950s. SAGE was a large scale, fully duplexed binary computer system, with tape drives, magnetic drums, telecommunication input/output and up to 64 graphic display terminals with 'light guns' (light pens). I wrote my first graphics program in 1959, to play 64 concurrent tic-tac-toe games (just so I could learn graphics programming).
This picture shows two huge consoles on each side of the room. One was always the active machine and the other the standby machine. The active computer communicated with the standby machine by way of shared magnetic drums, and a switchover, should it be needed, could be accomplished in about four seconds.
It's hard to see but in the upper left and upper right were banks for four tape drives. Display consoles can be seen at the back of the photo, with their huge 19" screens. Each computer had a card reader and printer.
After my first six years with IBM, I transferred into the commercial Data Processing Division (DPD), where the average customer was still using unit record equipment (punched cards) and the IBM 1401 was only becoming popular.