Contact details
Personal statement
Having decided to return to work following a break to raise my family, my recent study has enriched my previously self-taught skills, providing background understanding to support those skills and allowing me to gain up-to-date knowledge of current practices. Varying levels of technical experience and theoretical understanding were gained during my education, previous employment, and personal projects.
A fundamental grasp of object-oriented and procedural programming combined with my proven ability to independently and rapidly acquire and develop new skills puts me in an ideal position to apply myself to a variety of roles. Additionally, the soft skills developed during my time parenting, volunteering, and studying will no doubt be invaluable during my future career.
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Skills
- Attention to detail
- Time management & organisation
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- Java (inc. Netbeans IDE)
- Python
- SQL (inc. MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB)
- Git
- PHP
- JQuery
- Wireframing
- Command line (Windows/Linux/Git)
- Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Outlook
- ASP
- VBScript
- Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs)
- Unified Modelling Language (UML)
- Object Constraint Language (OCL)
- Algorithms (inc. complexity)
- Cordova (for Android hybrid webapp)
- Cloud technology (understanding of AWS, pros/cons, scalability, elasticity, reliability, availability zones, security)
- Open Stack (practical experience)
- REST APIs, SOAP, web services (theory & some practical experience using Postman)
- Understanding of security inc. encryption, confidentiality, GDPR
- Machine learning and AI (inc. Keras Tensorflow and Jupyter)
- Agile development (theory)
- Software engineering (understanding of architecture, design patterns inc. MVC/factory/adapter, testing inc. black/white box, UAT, system)
- Requirements analysis (FR/NFRs, producing analysis/object/class/sequence/state chart diagrams)
- Project management (inc. Gantt charts)
- Project Lifecycle (theory and practical)
- UI/UX (inc. accessibility/ARIA standards, quality attribute scenarios)
Education
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The Open University (09/2018-12/2023)
BSc (hons) Computing and IT (software), First-class honours -
University of Wales, Aberystwyth (09/1996-06/1999)
BSc (hons) Genetics, 2:2 -
N.E.W. College, Worcestershire (09/1994-06/1996)
A-levels: Biology, Physics, Chemistry -
Studley High School, Warwickshire (09/1992-06/1994)
GCSEs: 8x A*-C, 2x D
Volunteer experience
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Age UK (01/2017-08/2020)
Visited older people in their homes as part of Home from Hospital team, supporting clients with regaining their independence after a hospital stay by performing varied tasks as required -
Home Start UK (01/2017-08/2020)
Looked after children in a group setting so parents could receive support from staff/other parents and visited assigned family, offering varied support depending on their needs -
Parents and Friends Association, St Luke’s First School
(~2011-2014)
Worked within a team to plan and carry out craft activities, sponsored/charity events, and fetes with children, teachers, and families. Took on leadership role as PFA Chair in 2013/4.
Work experience
-
Festive Colleague, Tesco (11/2023-12/2023)
- Temporary part-time role working nights to replenish stock during the busy festive period
-
Systems Developer, Wrox Press (01/2002-12/2002)
- Full project lifecycle development of internal and external websites
- Worked as part of a team to complete integration of e-commerce application
- Individual projects included creation of a new internal content management system where I worked alone to gather requirements, design, build, and test the solution, liaising with the editorial team throughout
- Used HTML, CSS, JavaScript, ASP, and SQL skills (self-taught from existing code, internet, and textbooks) to create database-driven dynamic content
-
Support Developer, Wrox Press (05/2001-12/2001)
- Built and maintained internal and external websites as part of IT team supporting editorial and customer service groups
-
Internet Developer, just-sites.com (08/2000-05/2001)
- Performed basic networking, technical troubleshooting, and software installation as part of IT team
- Created and maintained website using HTML and CSS, employing version control to ensure integrity of data
- Learned Visual Basic from existing code and applied knowledge to relevant tasks
-
Website Operator, just-sites.com (06/2000-07/2000)
- Performed internet searches for relevant content and entered findings into web form, adding HTML links and formatting
- Maintained website pages using HTML with Dreamweaver 3 for version control (learnt on the job)
- Optimised images for enhanced site performance using Adobe ImageReady 2.0
-
Casework Support Secretary, The Law Society (12/1999-06/2000)
- Audio typing of varied correspondence as part of a team
- Requested by one caseworker to be the sole typist assigned to their work due to my efficiency, accuracy, and initiative
- Worked beyond the scope of the role to help colleagues with IT problems and work with inhouse 'ROAD' database
- Presented with 'Customer Focus Award' (02/2000) for exceeding expectations
Interests / Achievements
- Carbon Literacy Project course, October 2022 (cert.no. 00045670)
- Distance running / ultra hikes (since 2017), including London2Brighton 100km hike, May ‘23
- Listening to audiobooks (particularly sci-fi/thriller/horror)
- Camping and outdoor pursuits such as ‘Go Ape’
- Playing PC and mobile games (favourite genres are simulation, MMORPGs, and puzzles)