Gareth
Dean
Junior Software Engineer
Projects_
About_
Give me a mountain and you will find me trying to climb it!
Having spent most of my career in the construction industry, mainly in domestic renovations and specialising in all aspects of high-end bathroom fitting from the initial design and work processes to the actual physical work and completion to very high specifications. I had come to a career/life crossroads which led to me looking for a change of direction. Although I've always been interested in tech, I thought getting into the industry wouldn't be possible, until through my searching I found Northcoders and signed up for their full-stack software developer boot camp.
It may seem like a complete about-turn in career direction, but when you look at it, I'm still building things it's just that the tools in my toolbox have changed, and although my new toolbox is heavy with knowledge it’s certainly a lot lighter to carry around!
Throughout my Northcoders journey, I found many similarities to my previous career, from getting the structure of a website correct, (e.g. foundations, walls and floors) and functional parts (plumbing, electrics), to the UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) we don't want to be reaching too far for the towel and we certainly want the toilet roll holder to be where we expect it!! I will be taking my keen eye for detail, strong work ethic, close client communication and strong problem-solving skills into my new career.
At weekends you'll find me walking in the hills. I love exploring the Peak District, Snowdonia and the Lake District, add to that the odd trip to the Glencoe area for some winter walking, which led to planning to summit Mont Blanc which I achieved in 2018 with a group of 4 friends. If I'm not out in the middle of nowhere I enjoy attending many different types of sporting events and in the evenings meeting friends and going to see some live music. Even though I'm leaving the world of construction behind I still enjoy the odd home improvement project like the tradition domed pizza oven I built last year.
Final day at Northcoders, project group
At the summit of Mont Blanc
Self built brick pizza oven