How did full stack developer Kate Gordon, a UGA grad who studied English literature, find her way into tech? Like many young professionals figuring out how to get their careers off the ground, she found herself working in the food and beverage industry, and an idea came to her.
“My previous experience as a manager and bartender in the service industry, as well as time spent working at a small wine shop in Brooklyn, gave me perspective on solutions the technology industry can offer these businesses,” Gordon says.
She and a team of two others decided to build their own API, using Javascript, Express, Node.js and PostgreSQL, to create a concept called VineBook, a streamlined solution for wine buyers and sellers to communicate on inventory need fulfillment.
Gordon recently completed DigitalCrafts’ 16-week Full Stack Immersive Bootcamp, and says she intends to use her skills and experience to “contribute to a community dedicated to building technology that positively impacts people’s lives.”
Learn more about Kate Gordon below.
What tech projects have you worked on?
While attending DigitalCrafts, I had the opportunity to implement and work on a project called VineBook. I came up with the concept of this project as a proposed solution to the wine buying and distributing industries. Going into my final project at DigitalCrafts, I wanted to collaborate on a project that offered solutions to making technology more inclusive and that incorporated ethical design and application.
What tech/tools are essential to you as a developer?
In past projects, utilizing Git has been a huge factor in working efficiently with a team on a project. Right now, while learning React, extensions such as “ES7 React… Snippets,” “Prettier” and “Rainbow Tags” in VSCode make debugging and understanding code much easier for me.
How do you stay informed & on top of emerging trends?
Since the beginning of this course, I have typically spent around 30 minutes every day reading Medium articles in the morning. Lately, Twitter has been my most useful resource in learning about the latest in the tech community. Additionally, DEV community has been a preferred resource this week!
What are your best technical or creative skills?
I think that my creativity is exhibited in planning and implementing solutions through front-end design, development, and user experience. I believe that my communication skills enhances these abilities and allows me to effectively improve these skills.
What’s next on your list to learn?
As I learn more in React at DigitalCrafts, I’ve set out delving deeper into styled component and styled system libraries. Specifically, I’m going to be teaching myself Rebass in the coming weeks.
Why the interest in the technology field?
I have been continuously drawn to this field throughout my life, initially watching my mom’s journey as a self-taught developer in the 90’s. My journey so far in learning to code has changed the way that I approach problems and has brought a deeper understanding of the way that the tech world operates. I am eager to be part of the multitude of conversations surrounding the development and evolution of technology.
Are you interested in working for a startup, mid-sized company, or a corporate giant?
Ideally, I’d like to work for a startup or mid-sized company. I want to work in an environment where I have the opportunity to learn from and play an essential role on a team of dynamic and passionate builders.
Interested in looking at Kate’s credentials? Here you go! GitHub, Portfolio, and LinkedIn.
