After working as an operations manager for an outdoor media company and dabbling in a little software development, JC realised that she wanted to become a software developer full time.
With little development experience under her belt, JC decided to upskill and retrain to support her move into full time programming. After completing a programming bootcamp she found herself being offered a job a DiUS; kick starting her journey as a software developer.
JC is an avid cycler. To her, cycling is more than just physical fitness, it’s an opportunity for her to enjoy the breezy outdoor air and personal space that comes with being on a bike. When she cycles, JC is either listening to a podcast or music, observing people, or finding inspiration to help solve some programming problems she facing at the time.
She enjoys challenging herself to learn new things. She is currently learning Esperanto and Spanish; she finds learning new linguistic languages fun. Although learning a new language can be quite confusing at times, JC finds it a great way to train her brain, in addition she believes that it is a good talking point for conversations with strangers.
What was your first coding experience?
My first coding experience was to create a website using the design skills I picked up during a multimedia course using HTML and CSS. The experience was interesting. This was back in the day when designs were layered with tables and not display:block. I remember spending a lot of time, not just on the web design elements, but also trying to make precise adjustments to the tables in the design so that it would align perfectly.
This experience was the starting point of my curiosity towards web design and the programming world.
What inspired you to progress a career as a software developer?
I think my inspiration came from my first full time job working for a startup. After University, I was offered a job as a developer in a jack-of-all-trades role. Amongst all the tasks and projects I was involved in, the ones I enjoyed most included software development.
Do you have a mentor or someone who inspired and encouraged you to progress a career in technology?
My technology director at that time was my inspiration, and my mentor. My first project was having to code a new feature with .NET – a technology that I had never learnt or used before. It was quite daunting at the start. He was the person who gave me the confidence to keep going.
What is it that you love about coding and software development?
Having fallen in love with computers early on, I have always loved to create using code. I’m a left and right brainer. I love working in both front and backend development. I like solving backend technical problems and I like playing with colours and building attractive websites – creating whimsical front-end layouts.
What are you most passionate about?
I’m passionate about learning and using the right technology for a project. The technology world is ever evolving. There will never be one technology that fits all. The hardest thing is to find the technology that is most suited or relevant for a specific project.
What has been the most exciting project that you have worked on so far whilst being at DiUS?
The most exciting project would have to be my first, working with a startup to develop a roster optimisation web application. Being very new to consulting and having little experience in backend development, it was very challenging and exciting to learn from other consultants on how things were done like inception, story kickoff, agile, TDD and coding best practices.
At the end of the project, I found myself doing a lot of the front-end user-interface development. Setting up the basic frameworks for CSS frameworks, CSS styling pattern, writings codes in javascripts and ruby, writing unit test, and many others.
Do you prefer to work with any specific languages or tools?
I’m naturally drawn to more front-end tools. CSS and Javascript are my most comfortable languages.
Personally with backend languages, I prefer Ruby. I’ve had experience with PHP, .NET and Java.
Ruby is the easiest language to learn, organise and read.
As for a coding editor, my choice would be Sublime.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a career in technology?
Go for it. This is the best time to join. There are plenty opportunities in the market for anyone who loves technology.
Do you have any tips you would like to share based on your experience?
It might be daunting for someone who wants to join the world of technology. It’s constantly changing, and sometimes might intimidate people. However, the world of technology is very different from other industries. People are nicer, friendlier and more sharing. At DiUS, it’s all about sharing and helping each other learn and grow. I think my experience of switching to a career in technology was made easier with OpenSource, Github, coding tutorials and all other resources that can be found online.
We’re looking for passionate software engineers to join our team. Apply here.