Present
eustasy.org - Systems Architect (Council Member)
I first joined eustasy in 2007, and have worked since then to the point where I am now one of 12 governing council members. eustasy provides assisting services to aspiring web concepts and developers, particularly those in need of serious help from developing countries. While consistently pivoting, it has delivered tutorials, resources, and guidance to over 45 million people. Day-to-day I contribute code that keeps the web services running, and manage a network of servers that are now deploying the 5th generation. This extensive but agile network must run at minimum cost to keep funds as free as possible for future developments and contributions.
elementary - Delivery Network Administrator and Community Moderator
I've worked with elementary, the producers of a wonderful operating system that just works without me needing to configure loads of things, since mid-2014, and have been committing publicly since early 2015. I've worked with their web team to produce their current website, and I manage their delivery network, which has handled over 1 Petabyte of downloads so far from 6 international locations.
I have also recently undertaken the role of pro-tempore moderator for the elementary OS StackExchange site, which already has thousands of users and a high visitor per question rate.
Past
Cancer Research UK - Promoter
While working for Cancer Research UK as a promoter, I had to constantly meet and greet new people, to whom I was the de facto authority on a very complex issue. This meant dealing with issues from "What is the chance of their being a cure before [loved one] passes on?" to "Can you do an examination now?" to "What is so hard about curing it anyway?" Needless to say my on-the-spot responses were not always brilliant, but I hope I managed to convey some useful information to the majority of people I met.
British Red Cross - Promoter
The Red Cross were my second employers, by proxy, in my work as a promoter. With them I truly found something to be passionate about, as they invariably had "something for everyone". With work in disaster relief, hospital assistance, home care, and international aid, there was always something people were willing to care about.
The YMCA - Donations Assistant
I spent the best part of a school year volunteering about 7 or 8 hours a week at a local outlet for the YMCA. The staff was small and friendly, and it allowed me to while away time waiting for transport, mostly assembling furniture that had long ago lost instructions and organising items within the 5 storey store. Make no mistake, this was not a big store, a considerable portion of it was devoted to the staircase (there was no elevator), and the basement flooded all through the winter, constantly setting off alarms. I also learnt how to operate a checkout, an invaluable skill for any soon-to-be-uni-student.
What I Learned
- How to approach working in a new environment (this was my first "job").
- How to get on with tasks without instructions, since things usually aren't documented.
- The importance of staying organised (there ain't no mess like a 10,000 items of clothing mess).
- That someone donating 5 muddled scalectric sets could keep the entire staff amused.
- How to bypass the alarm on an ADT 1000-series while water is cascading down it.
