Dan Birks recently joined bd2’s development team, but his route into the industry hasn’t been straight forward, here Dan tells his own story.
Chapter 1 - education
"I initially took a degree in QTS Teaching at the University of Edge Hill, but soon found the overall experience was somewhat bitter sweet. Although I loved engaging with the children and staff, I did not feel mentally stimulated and fulfilled enough to feel ‘all-in’ with my career, which is very important to me.
So, after a lot of soul-searching, I decided to pursue a masters degree and retrain in software engineering. The idea originally came through a recommendation from a close friend who knew I’ve always intrigued by the idea of an ever-growing industry and for infinite possibilities to learn.
I enrolled on Manchester Metropolitan University’s Computer Science Masters Degree but I have to admit I found the course exceptionally challenging as I had fairly minimal prior experience of software engineering. In hindsight I suppose this could easily have caused me to be put off by the whole experience, but quite the opposite happened. My engagement with the course was extremely high regardless of the course sometimes out-pacing me in several areas. I was perfectly happy putting up with this challenge, as it became a clear indicator to me that this career field was indeed for me.
After the course, I still felt I was lacking some core principles of programming, so I took an online course in Java provided by the University of Helsinki. This gave me the confidence to start building my own projects on GitHub and laying some groundwork for my CV.
Chapter 2 - a baptism of fire
I landed my first full stack ASP.Net junior developer position at a small digital agency on the Wirral. The role was fully hands-on covering pretty much every aspect of software development as well as dealing with clients.
The working environment was pretty hectic with many high pressure ‘hot fixes’ and some unsafe SQL queries crossing multiple client databases. There were lots of direct phone calls from clients to deal with too as there were no project managers or support staff.
There was also no continuous integration or deployment pipelines so it was very easy to break sites. The CMS was proprietary with a bespoke code structure which was largely undocumented, so it was very challenging to work out, or contribute to the code base without asking endless questions which would distract the busy senior developers.
Being new to software development this was all a bit too much for me mostly because the constant problem resolution and fire fighting meant I was unable to focus on and refine my skills at any one thing. I started to feel like I was a software handyman rather than a software developer. On the upside I have to say I improved my skills significantly and rapidly - I had to! But I realised the business was not in a position to offer the things I was looking for as a .NET developer.
Chapter 3 - a new dawn
Joining bd2 has given me exactly what I wanted. As a dedicated back-end .Net developer, I am provided with pre-defined tickets that detail the client’s exact requirements - with no ambiguity. I work on a variety of websites built to industry standard MVC, so I’m able to make strong assumptions on the code structure which meets developer expectations with navigable code conventions. Most of which use the ever-growing, developer and super client-friendly CMS, Umbraco which I love to use.
There’s a real team approach with our experienced project managers, dedicated front and back end developers and testers all working together to ensure that the client gets the results they want. It feels good to release something without the worry of it either breaking something or feeling it wasn’t tested by myself properly enough. Everyone has defined roles here, and we trust in each other to provide the best service possible to our clients. I’ve really benefited from being mentored by more experienced developers and by being able to share blockers and discuss with colleagues.
Most importantly, the culture of bd2 feels like a family. It was immediately apparent when I was welcomed to the team with what felt like open arms. Everyone is always willing to provide any help, which they offer no matter how busy things become. I have made a lot of wonderful friends at bd2 already. I am looking forward to continue refining my skills here at bd2 and I am excited to provide ever more substantial positive contributions to the company and client’s websites as bd2 gives me the breathing room to grow and learn to give back - which is a very stimulating and exciting process!”