Allow us to introduce to you Dan Fulcher, who has just joined us as a Frontend Developer. Among a host of other amazing things, he’s going to be making sure that the Viddyoze user experience is something special. And when he’s not doing that, you can find him working on a pet project of his own, enjoying hummus or halfway up a boulder. Here’s how he sees it.
People are always keen to share their experience or wisdom
Early in my career I spent a lot of time trying to figure out solutions to problems that colleagues had already solved. In other words, spending time reinventing the wheel when I didn’t need to — the answer was sitting across the desk from me.
That doesn’t mean asking for help as soon as I’m confronted with a problem. If I can work it out myself, then brilliant. Instead, it’s about seeking guidance from others when you’re at an impasse.
I realised this when I had reached a point in my career where people started coming to me with questions. I soon learnt that being able to share your own knowledge is really satisfying — and helpful to other people. And I bet a lot of my earlier colleagues would’ve been just as happy to have shared their expertise with me as I am sharing mine today.
A tiny spark — that’s all it took for me to get to where I am today
I did a tiny bit of web design and development at college. That’s it. But it set off a spark. And it seemed like something I could have a career in. So, when I finished college, I applied for a bunch of apprenticeships. The funny thing is that I discovered that everything I had learned was crazy outdated. I basically had to start from scratch again (which was actually fine).
As an apprentice I learnt how to design web pages and code them using html and css. From there I moved into various roles, eventually developing an interest in javascript and its various frameworks. And that’s how I came to work at Viddyoze.
The part of an application that a user sees and interacts with — that’s the front end of web development
My day-to-day sees me working closely with the design and UX (user experience) team to build the individual components, pages and features that make up an app.
Seeing something that I’ve coded to the best of my ability working in a browser or on a device is a very satisfying feeling
It’s always a good day knowing that you’ve built something that’s so robust that you can confidently hand it over and not worry about its performance.
There is always something to learn…
… whether it’s something new that’s gaining traction or something not-so-new that you never got round to learning before. That’s actually one of the most challenging aspects of the job — the industry is constantly changing and evolving and it can feel like a struggle just to keep up.
I tend to set myself little projects and challenges to work on outside of my 9–5 — nerd alert! — with the aim of teaching myself something new. For example, over the last few months I’ve been busy developing a mobile app so I can try my hand at native development.
The best developer is the one who’s using the right tools for the right job
By that I mean not just using the latest technology because it’s new and shiny — or using something because it’s “what we always use” — but because it’s the best set of tools needed to meet a particular spec.
Patience, open-mindedness and hunger to learn — three characteristics that are essential to web development
Patience: You spend a lot of your time fixing bugs, which can get frustrating. A bit of patience can help you get through these with minimal hair loss.
Open-mindedness: When discussing the best way to achieve a certain goal, you have to be open to being proved wrong. There are multiple ways to do things. And while your way might work 99% of the time, that 1% — someone else’s approach — might in fact work better.
Unless your approach is using Angular. In which case you’re always wrong 😉.
Hunger to learn: As I mentioned before, things move really fast in web development. There’s always something new on the horizon, some sort of amazing and, dare I say it, sexy new tech emerging. It never hurts to add another string to your bow.
Any time I’ve seen a finished project of mine being used, I feel good
For example, I built a visitor management system in my last role. An app that’s put on tablets by reception so that visitors can sign in and alert their host that they’re waiting. I went to a building in London recently and saw it being used at reception. That was a really great feeling.
The world is moving more and more online
And as this happens there is an increasing demand for more people to build and maintain systems that allow for this shift to happen successfully. Web development is more important than people think.
Quick-fire…
- Go-to emoji: Hmmm… I used to have a custom emoji of the Italian hand gesture (you know the one). Without access to that, I often find myself using 👌🏼 — it’s the one that looks most like it
- Go-to social media platform: Instagram. I’m quite into rock climbing and bouldering, and use Instagram to follow a lot of athletes that I like. I also use it to post my own climbing videos and pictures (@spiderdan_ — shameless plug)
- Tea or coffee: I’m a big coffee drinker. I love a flat white with oat milk
- Favourite food: This is tricky 🤔 I think I’m gonna go with hummus. I just really like it — as a dip, a spread or in a recipe. It’s very versatile!
- Favourite movie: I maintain that Scott Pilgrim vs The World is one of the best films ever made. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour. If you have seen it and disagree with me, I understand that that’s your opinion, but please know that you’re wrong
- Favourite quote: “It takes a very long time to say anything in Old Entish, so we don’t say anything unless it’s worth taking a very long time to say.” (Treebeard from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)
- We’re at a party. Your trick is: I can do a pretty spot-on impression of a dolphin with my cheek. I can also do that thing where you flick your cheek to make a water drop sound
If you enjoyed that you’re in luck. You can also find out more about our new Head of Customer Support and Experience, Katy Morris, here.
