Whilst I studied computing at school I didn't pursue this as a career until quite a few years later due to taking an engineering apprenticeship straight from leaving school.
Due to a recurring knee injury that required operations I was advised by my GP to consider retraining in another field. Whilst recovering from one such operation I heard that the University of Hull was running a University Taster Experience course in Internet Computing at its Scarborough Campus. I signed up to this short course, attended sample lectures and lab sessions on web development and programming, applied and was accepted on to its BSc Honours course in Internet Computing.
For the next 3 years I studied modules in web development (HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, PHP), database design and management (PostgreSQL, MySQL), Graphics, Software Engineering (design and testing), OOP (Java), networking, security and forensics.
In the spring of 2005 I sat my final exams and weeks later had my final knee operation (a ligament reconstruction) which resulted in 1 month in a splint and a further 5-6 months of physiotherapy. I graduated that summer with a 2:1(Hons) in Internet Computing just two days after having my splint removed which meant I had to sit on stage throughout the whole ceremony rather than with my fellow students.
After completing my physiotherapy and through a good friend from uni (Kev) I was taken on by Evaxyx (UK) Limited as an IT consultant specialising in the area of data management/data quality. Whilst there I was trained in large scale data management/ profiling software such as Trillium and Ab Initio before working on in house development projects and testing and supporting data processing applications at one of the UKs' largest financial institutions.
Following redundancy (credit crunch) and retraining to become a maths teacher I have continued studying maths and computing online via MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) run by Coursera and Udacity and worked in a variey of roles from designing and developing bespoke web based auditing systems to teaching Maths, IT and Electrical Science at a number of Yorkshire based colleges. As of Aug 2021 I'm currently looking for my next role in programming/data/design/analysis/lecturing.