I began my career in financial services in 2015, working as a Personal Banker before progressing into a Mortgage Advisor role. During this time, I developed strong communication skills, a deep understanding of customer needs, and the ability to work in high-pressure, detail-focused environments.

During the COVID period, I made the decision to transition into IT. This was driven by both personal interest and a desire to build a more technically focused career. I started self-learning through online resources, experimenting with coding, and building small tools to solve real problems. This led to the opportunity to join a large financial organisation as an IT apprentice, where I now specialise in network infrastructure.

In my current role, I work with a range of technologies and tools including cloud platforms, monitoring systems, automation workflows, and containerised environments. I’m particularly interested in improving efficiency through automation, building scalable solutions, and understanding how systems interact across complex environments.

Alongside my role, I have recently completed a degree apprenticeship in Digital & Technology Solutions, continuing to build both my academic and practical knowledge in areas such as networking, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and software development.

My learning approach is hands-on and continuous. I actively build projects to deepen my understanding—ranging from home lab environments and containerised applications to automation tools and self-hosted systems.

Giving back through technology is also important to me. Alongside my professional role, I volunteer as a tech volunteer for a UK charity, supporting their systems administration and digital tooling while helping them work towards their mission. From troubleshooting and improving systems to advising on digital platforms and stepping in wherever needed, I enjoy using my skills to help enable the organisation’s goals and make a practical difference.

I am currently working towards Microsoft Azure certifications, with a structured plan to progress through foundational, administrative, and networking specialisations. This reflects my long-term goal of becoming a well-rounded cloud and platform engineer.

Outside of work, I enjoy creating, building, and learning through hands-on projects—often combining technology with creativity.

Photography has become a growing passion of mine, particularly nature and landscape photography. From capturing wildlife at local deer parks to exploring places like Hadrian’s Wall and nature reserves, I enjoy developing my skills in composition, lighting, and techniques such as macro and night photography. Having several of my photos placed in agricultural competitions has been a rewarding milestone and continues to motivate me to improve.

I’m also drawn to practical creative projects and experimentation. I enjoy making my own chocolate from scratch, exploring ingredients, flavours, and techniques to refine recipes and create handmade gifts for family and friends. In a similar spirit, I’ve enjoyed home brewing, designing labels, and combining craft with creativity.

Archery is another hobby I’ve taken up, and one I appreciate for the focus, patience, and precision it requires. I enjoy the technical side of tuning equipment as much as the discipline of improving consistency and form.

Many of my hobbies naturally overlap with technology and personal projects. One project I particularly enjoyed building was a receipt printer productivity app powered by a Raspberry Pi, designed to print tasks and reminders to help me stay organised and focused. It started as a fun experiment inspired by a maker project and became a practical tool I use day to day.

I also enjoy building small web applications around real-life ideas. One example is a pizza ordering web app I created for when friends and family visit and I’m making homemade pizzas. The app lets people place their “orders,” making it a fun way to combine hosting, cooking, and software development while experimenting with full-stack development concepts.

More broadly, I enjoy tinkering with home lab projects, self-hosted services, automation, and turning ideas into working solutions—whether they begin as a practical need or simply curiosity to see if I can build them. For me, that mix of creativity, problem solving, and continuous learning is what ties many of my interests together.