What does your role involve?
I work as a full stack developer and in a team that looks after a number of existing web applications for multiple government clients. Working as a full stack developer means that I write code for the front end and back end of an application. Front end is a broad term used in web development that refers to the part of the application that the user interacts with on a browser including the page layouts, styles, and interactive elements. The back end usually refers to the connection between the front end of the application and a database or databases that store large amounts of data which happens via an API.
What programming language do you use?
All of our applications use JavaScript in the front end which is the first language I learned at Dev Academy Aotearoa and it’s the coding language I enjoy working in the most. We use a range of other languages and technologies on our applications which have taken me a while to get my head around. But I enjoy having a wide range of tools I can use and understand. I think that is one of the benefits of working at a services company like Catalyst.
What are you working on?
Two of the websites we maintain are called Death Documents(external link) and SmartStart(external link). Death Documents is a website that allows Medical professionals to submit death certificates and coroner’s reports online rather than using paper forms. SmartStart has a range of services for new parents including allowing them to register the birth of their new baby online. I think it’s interesting to work on these two applications which cover both ends of a person’s lifespan and aim to make difficult life events a bit easier for those involved.
What does your typical day look like?
A typical day for me varies quite a lot depending on what applications require work at different times. Often I will work on different things throughout the day from software upgrades to building new features to helping with requests from users to reset their passwords.
I work in a team that prioritises working in person so I am generally in the Wellington office which I enjoy because it is quite social. We tend to do the Post quiz every morning in the shared kitchen which is a good way to meet people from across the company. Sometimes I will meet with clients and discuss issues in our applications that need to be fixed or help with planning new features.