/* Expertise and Life */

I have been a Full Stack React developer by trade and by training since November 2017. My expertise is rooted in Javascript/Typescript and ReactJS, along with a smattering of backend technologies(NodeJS, Elixir), full-stack frameworks(MeteorJS, GraphQL), and new age build-tools(ViteJS, Webpack). Prior to Software Development, I was in the service industry. I held jobs of server, server assistant, barback, bartender, shift manager, and Service Manager of a large local restauant. I think about this quote the a lot:

"‘You can always tell when a person has worked in a restaurant. There’s an empathy that can only be cultivated by those who’ve stood between a hungry mouth and a $28 pork chop, a special understanding of the way a bunch of motley misfits can be a family. Service industry work develops the “soft skills” recruiters talk about on LinkedIn — discipline, promptness, the ability to absorb criticism, and most important, how to read people like a book. The work is thankless and fun and messy, and the world would be a kinder place if more people tried it. With all due respect to my former professors, I’ve long believed I gained more knowledge in kitchens, bars, and dining rooms than any college could even hold." ~ Anthony Bourdain 6/25/1956 – 6/8/2018

I have found that the skills I garnered from my time in the service industry, are worth just as much as what i learned in my bootcamp. I will say my first tech job (also my current one) was acquired with skills I had honed over thousands of interactions with guests across the multiple restaurants I had worked for in my career. My bootcamp gave me the knowledge to answer the questions, and those interactions over those 10 years gave me the confidence and the ability to communicate that knowledge.