I am an ambitious full stack developer. After completing a Maths degree, I spent a few years tutoring Maths and Physics, travelling and learning about music. I then started working for Pwc in a tax technology consulting graduate role. However having found no joy or satisfaction in that job, I began to learn to code and found it really enjoyable. So when I heard about Makers, I left that role to try and become a software developer.
When I began to code last year, I couldn't believe what I'd been missing out on. Suddenly I had a career path that could be a hobby as well. Coding really satisfies my need for creativity and problem solving, and is everything I'd hoped my Maths degree would be. I love that the skills you pick up have real world applications, and the immediacy of seeing the code you type become the product on screen. The idea of having this blank canvas and all the tools and languages available to me, with all the learning resources available online to master them, is something I find incredibly exciting.
One other big aspect of coding that I really enjoy is the team based side of project work. I have been introduced to this since the start of Makers. During the many pair programming sessions on the course, I have really enjoyed learning with and from my pair each day. And during the group projects, it has been great to grow as a team, and learn to approach problems as a team in many different ways.
I am excellent at motivating myself and having the persistence to learn any skill I need to. This is something I struggled with as a teenager, but I really developed in this area during uni when I taught myself how to play guitar. I created a routine that I made sure I did everyday consisting of skills I needed to get better at. Something that was so important in this process was making sure I persisted even in the moments where it seemed I wasn't getting any better. Fighting through these moments really taught me the importance of persistence and overcoming self doubt.
During my time as a Maths and Physics tutor much of my success was based on my ability to explain complex topics in a simple way. My aim was to translate the materials we were studying in order to demistify the students belief that certain topics were beyond them. I explained things in plain English, trying to use as few mathematical terms as possible. I also made sure to show them multiple examples and slowly go through them as well, as I believe that the most important phase of learning something new is when we put the skill into practice.
| Name | Description | Technologies | Testing | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chitter | A Microblogging website | Ruby, Jquery, Sinatra, Bcrypt, Postgres | Rspec, Capybara | https://github.com/dbacall/chitter-challenge |
| Facade Brochure | A classy alternative to facebook | Ruby, Rails, Jquery, Active Record | Rspec, Capybara | Github Repo - https://github.com/EManifold/acebook-zuckermen Deployed website - https://intense-stream-74805.herokuapp.com/ |
| Recispeak | A voice recognition recipe android app | Javascript, React Native, Spoonacular Api, React native voice | Jest, Enzyme | https://github.com/dbacall/Recispeak |
| Movie Bucket List | A Movie List website so you never forget what you want to watch again | Javascript, React, Redux, Node, Express, MongoDB, themoviedb API | Jest, Enzyme | https://github.com/dbacall/movie-bucket-list |
- OOP, TDD, MVC, DDD
- Agile/XP
- Ruby, Rails, JavaScript
- RSpec, Jasmine
- Passed the first 7 exams before deciding it wasn't for me
- Mathematics Bsc
- 2:1
A Levels:
- A in Maths
- A in Physics
- B in Biology
Connected Cognition (Apr 2020 to Jun 2020)
Contract Software Developer
Pwc (Sep 2018 to Jul 2019)
Graduate Tax technology consultant
Various (Jan 2017 to Jul 2017)
Maths and Physics A Level and GCSE tutor
I am a self taught guitarist and love learning new music and playing with friends. I enjoy playing football, tennis, table tennis and snooker and regularly go to local snooker clubs with friends to remind us how bad we are. I also really enjoy cooking and regularly cook for friends and family. I'm also a bit mad about video gaming, and will gladly organize then win mario kart tournaments to help raise team morale.