Yesterday, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and I parted ways amicably. The event was no fault of my own or LCV’s. As such, I am again, back on the hunt for a new job. This time, I hope to refrain from jumping at the first offer and really consider whether it is a good fit for both my family and I.
I have decided to change things up a bit and seek out work in the Web Developer realm. I am most happiest whenever I perform work in this capacity, I feel it truly fits who I am and was meant to be. Who would build a personal porftolio Web site if they weren’t passionate about Web Development.
I believe that my passion for this field shines through when I am willing to voluntarily build a Web site for a perfect stranger because I think it will give me a creative outlet and more experience working with Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, jQuery, HTML 5, CSS3, etc.
Further, I grew even more intimately familiar with WordPress. WordPress is built using PHP code and it goes together in pieces to build each page. A header, body (index), sidebar and footer as well as a separate body for a single post and separate files for each page. I can’t tell you how much fun I think it is to dive into the code and figure it all out and implement the best plug-ins as well as looking at the result of a project and smiling, knowing that the internet is better off with this site.
My search engine optimization (SEO) skills also have improved somewhat with my latest project. As I am the type of person who reverse-engineers something I find fascinating about a Web site, I also do the same thing when I am learning something new to implement with regard to Web Development, including SEO. Previously, I had a firm grasp on meta data tags such as keywords and description, but I now have a firmer grasp on XML and how the sitemap and claiming sites with such behemoth search engines as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing works.
I see the glass as half full with this experience as a chance to change things up and see what comes of putting myself out there seeking a Web Developer position.
Finally, I would like to declare my free agnecy to any and all prospective employers who are looking for someone to work as a Web Developer. Please visit my portfolio or résumé page to view more of my projects or work history and select any thumbnail to view the corresponding entry.
Interesting. I feel a sort of collision between our paths. First I’d like to commend you on your ability to be selective to find a situation that provides happiness before money. I can relate as I have been looking into DIY Thesis (wordpress based) as a smaller piece of a biger project. I found this (http://infolab.stanford.edu/~sergey/349/) interesting when looking at SEO. It’s a syllabus from a October 1998 Stanford Computer Science class taught by none other than Larry and Sergey of Google. The other interesting thing about the syllabus is that class started approx. 1 month after Googles incorporation as a privately held company.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Are you willing to relocate? If so, I can put in a good word for you with the web dev team at the Grand Sierra. They aren’t looking for another team member per se, but if the fit is right, they might be interested.
Yes, I am open to relocating. As you say, if the fit is right, I am willing to consider anything. Thanks Shar. I really appreciate it.