Who am I?
My Personal Experience
Not to sound too cliché, but I am many things: partner, friend, son, daydreamer, photographer, and so much more. I enjoy well-told stories in pretty much any medium, helping improve the lives of those around me, and actively working on improving my mental state through introspection and therapy.
I have a lot of “hare-brained schemes” as my partner calls them; ideas that I think would be fun or meaningful to make the world a better place. I enjoy having variation in activities and conversations, and I think life is about forging connections and making memories meaningful to oneself while we’re here.
I’m hoping to share a bit of myself with the world here, in the hopes of making someone’s life even a little bit easier.
My Professional Experience
In a professional sense, I’m a software engineer with over nine years of technical experience and over two years of management experience. I have staff engineer level backend experience, and my language of choice these days is Python.
I have a background in both computer science and psychology from my college days, and I truly enjoy intersections of the two, including people management. I have experience in building inclusive and collaborative teams with a growth mindset, while quantifying results around that growth.
More broadly, I thrive when working on problems that help people – I can’t envision myself working at an adtech or defense company, for example.
Here’s a copy of my resumé for any interested parties.
Side Notes
Tech is funny to me. We have so many tools and frameworks and languages that sound made up.
To illustrate that, I have experience working with: REST APIs, Kubernetes, Python, Django, Java, C++ (11, 17), CircleCI, Jenkins, Azure (including Azure DevOps), AWS (including S3, Route 53, etc.), nginx, Tomcat, Heroku, Split.io, Postman, Launch Darkly, bash, fish, JavaScript (very different from Java!), TypeScript, Reflex, D2, and so many more.
I generally view all technology as a means to an end where the end is making people’s lives better. I’m happy to learn any and all technology needed to make that vision come true!
Impetus for this Site
I’ve been doing a fair amount of helping others with complex topics in recent years – there were some common threads that would have been nice to have in a central place to send them, rather than needing to describe the same complex thing the same way for the third time that month.
Keep scrolling to see topics I plan on covering!
Art
My sister-in-law, mother, and a few friends have all shown some degree of interest in photography, composition rules, and other art over the years.
I enjoy painting, though that’s a skill that’s not well developed yet – I might share some here. As for my photography, I’ve been told my style is “best suited for desktop wallpapers or postcards,” which I take as a compliment!
Interview Guidance
An acquaintance wanted guidance on resume crafting and interview prep (technical and behavioral).
This was just after I finished going over some similar guidance with a coworker that had been laid off.
…And that was shortly after I helped my sister-in-law prepare to land a software engineering job!
I noticed some common threads in all these discussions, both from the candidate and interviewer points of view, and want to share them!
I also know of some resources describing mindset shifts that might help a lot in your work life.
Ikigai, a framework for finding a job that you find peace with
Mental Health
I’ve gone through my fair share of therapy, and the lessons I’ve learned changed my life – I wouldn’t be half the person I am today without spending time working on myself and becoming my own friend.
I’m a firm believer in being vulnerable and open with mental health, both to reduce the stigma around seeking help with mental health and to ease the process of being vulnerable and getting to know one another in the modern era. I’ve tried to collate some resources that I think might help readers.
Personal Finance
My mother taught me some basics of financial literacy, which is a form of privilege: a lot of people haven’t been as lucky to be taught some of these things.
As an example, I discovered a new credit card that had some amazing benefits. While sharing this, my partner’s mother had some questions around how to pick the best credit card for her spending habits, and it got me thinking about the process.
Tech and Tools
I spend a lot of time with computers and software, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to make my experience low friction and secure. As a result, I’ve picked up some things that make navigating our digital world safer. I have helped several loved ones onboard to more privacy-focused tools, including:
