Currently enjoying my career as a full-stack developer. But having grown up in South Yorkshire I studied for a degree in Manufacturing Engineering fully intending to follow a sensible career in industry. Graduation took me to a post as a Teaching Company Associate with the University of Surrey and they assigned me to a small manufacturing plant. Here that I took my first steps into programming when I worked on the creation of a just-in-time production control system.
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. Dr Seuss
Over time roles at Renault and BUPA followed, giving me opportunities to get into databases and virtual data warehousing for product launches and marketing campaigns. A spell at IBM on a hotel reservation system and one at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on accounting software followed. By now, I'd packed up factory management and my shirt and ties for good.
The dotcom boom swept in and sparked my move into financial applications and Java. Not only was I the lead programmer on software for some of the world's leading banks but I also unearthed a penchant for troubleshooting. Keeping a calm head when all around was turmoil, I'd regularly jet out to the Channel Islands supporting prestigious offshore clients.
As the new millenium dawned I swapped corporate life for running my own limited company in the world of freelance programming. Contracts with the public sector saw me introducing systems for police complaints handling, national firearms and mobility assessments primarily using open source technologies.
Then heading into Wealth Management I architected and developed a brand new company intranet whose content was managed through Alfresco CMS. I master-minded speedy document search facilities that included auto-complete and a predictive name search for the telephone directory. And also diversified into PhoneGap mobile apps.
Capitalising on my interest in document search, I took on a role for the research arm of the NHS, the NIHR to develop a new research awards website. This site provides fast, advanced search through all the thousands of research documents created across the UK medical sector.
Outside of work, I have a keen interest in programming Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).
And when I eventually close up my laptop, I enjoy learning to play my saxophone, riding out on my classic motorcycles and baking sourdough bread.
I live in deepest Hampshire with my wife and our cats.
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