National Coding Week: Chris’ Story

Coding is fast becoming an essential skill to master in an age dominated by digital. Schools are now adopting it in the curriculum, colleges and universities are offering courses…and some people are teaching it themselves. The latter applies to Chris, our Web Developer, who is entirely self-taught after receiving a book from a friend. We interviewed him to see how he stumbled across the world of coding and what made him take it up as a career.

When was your first involvement with coding?

My friend gave me a book on PHP, MySQL and JavaScript when I sustained an injury and had some time off. I’ve been hooked ever since echoing my first “Hello World!” on a blank webpage.

What made you want to take it up as a career?

I built a customer database and register system with a responsive interface for the charity I used to work for. I loved working on this project so much during my own time that I knew a career change was calling.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

 I love making a website interactive for the user, whether that’s a simple bit of movement or working with designers to plan a user’s ‘commute’ through the webpage and making it as simple as possible for them to get where they want to be. I also enjoy making websites that just look amazing.

Any tips you would give to anyone who has just started coding?  

Be patient. You’re going to get it wrong and that’s ok because you learn from your mistakes. Error logs are your best friend when something breaks.

What advice would you offer to someone who is thinking of taking up coding? 

Just do it, you don’t know if it’s for you till you try it. If you do try it make sure to investigate both backend and frontend roles as one or both may suit you. Find a way of learning that works for you, whether that’s reading blogs or books down to watching videos on YouTube. Don’t expect your first project to be a masterpiece, your first project is simply the first step on your coding journey.

Are you interested in taking up coding as a hobby or maybe even a career? Head over to Coding Week’s website to see how you can get involved.