About

Hi I'm James Boland.

I enjoy making things.

I've been honing my skills in web development since August 2022, where I started self-teaching using various online resources (thank you theodinproject).

I immediately took to the development process of planning and building something from nothing, and soon found myself enrolling for Coder Academy's October intake of their Full Stack Web Development course. I've been studying with them since October 2022 and completed my studies in August 2023.

Since then, I have taken on various freelance projects and undergone mentorship in building projects using varying different technologies. I'm excited about the direction and potential of technology and code, with a keen interest and curiousity on AI, LLMs and the waves of emerging AI tools. I'm currently balancing freelance work, casual non-dev related work, and studying for a AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification exam, to be taken November this year.

A little bit on how I got here:

In 2018, after graduating from University, I went overseas for 5 months, travelling solo and pursuing new and challenging experiences (such as a road trip through the North East corner of the US and working on boats in Croatia!). I'd recognised that what I had studied in University (B Econ & Finance/B Arts Sociology) didn't align with my interests and create opportunities for a career I could see myself getting into.

I spent some time working in hospitality and for the Australian Government while also exploring different interests with an open mind, mainly related to music and audio production.

I made some projects and released some music (you can check me out on Spotify as 'bondla') and towards the end of 2021, I started my own small business Podcusts, delivering custom podcast audio intros and outros, tailored to the clients specifications. It was in developing this small side business (which is still running, though infrequent) that I stumbled across web development. I found I was really drawn to the whole "creating a website" part of starting a business, using site builders like Webflow (which didn't work) and Wix (which did work! phew).

It didn't take much for me to recognise that I'd fallen in love with coding

- and now I'm here, keen to start a new career in tech.

Education

I graduated from the University of Wollongong with a double degree in a Bachelor of Economics & Finance (Economics major) and a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology major).

I've recently completed a Full Stack Web Development Bootcamp with Coder Academy, (Diploma of Information Technology), where I completed my studies with a High Distinction average (Weighted Average Mark of 90.12%) throughout all terms.
I'm currently studying to complete my AWS SAA Certification later this year.

Approach

I'm a fast, eager learner with a curious mind and an eye for detail.

Coming from a background of dealing with audio and music production, I've found that my true passion lies in creating something starting from it's seed - an idea.

I enjoy playing a role in each part of the development cycle, from ideation and planning, to production-ready deployment.

I am available to work and am looking for opportunities that will help me grow and kick start my career in this field.

I'm ready to play a part in bringing ideas to life.

Skills

My skills are expanding as I build more projects. For an up to date list, check out my resume.

I have experience in the full-stack of web development, with a leaning towards the front end of applications. That being said, I'm always curious about understanding about whats going on behind the scenes in the back end and am eager to expand my skills with consideration of the full-stack.

I have recently built a full stack booking application and a full stack drone flight logger mobile application with TypeScript, using Expo & React Native.

Hands on experience with

  • Python
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • MongoDB
  • Express.js
  • React
  • React Native
  • Node.js
  • Nestjs
  • Flask
  • MongoDB Atlas
  • Render
  • Netlify
  • PostgreSQL
  • Jest
  • Git
  • Postman
  • Insomnia
  • Thunder Client
  • Figma
  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • Tailwind
  • Sass
  • Expo (React Native)
  • Docker

download my resume

James Boland