Hello world, my name is Josh; it's great to have you here! Creating software, solving problems, helping others, working together as a team, customer satisfaction—this is what I'm passionate about and deeply committed to. Since 2018, I have rigorously developed my programming ability through online learning, and through studying CSE at Western Michigan University. Although I have formal education in computer science, most of my skills are self-taught. I've successfully completed many tutorials and coding challenges, built projects both big and small, and have earned respected certificates. I have developed ios applications, games, and several flask web apps. Python is the language that I've committed most of my time to learning, and is what I am most experienced with. However, I also have a decent understanding of C, C#, Swift, Java, SQL, and a dash of Javascript sprinkled in. I consider myself a life-long learner, and with my passion for education, I continuously progress with the help of online resources, and communities.
Feel free to check out my certificates and take a peek at my portfolio! If you'd like to know more about my story, read on!
I was raised in beautiful Colorado and lived there almost my entire life. I studied aviation and moved to Michigan after I received my pilot's license, in 2015. Believe me when I tell you that learning to fly a helicopter along the Colorado front range was an unforgettable experience. However, shortly after moving to Michigan, I decided not to continue professional flight-training, and instead, I chose to change majors.
My first exposure to programming was when I was a freshman in high school, sometime around 2003. In computer class, they taught us how to program a website with HTML. I fondly remember one assignment that required us to reproduce a webpage advertisement of our choosing. Being the class clown, I picked what my 13-year-old brain thought was hilarious at the time: an ad for "the headblade"—a razor designed just for bald men. Despite initially being a joke, it turned out that re-creating a perfect copy of that headblade advertisement was absolutely satisfying! It would take a while, but eventually I would think back to this moment and realize this is exactly what sparked my love for coding.
Fast-forwarding through a lot of life, I completed a Python bootcamp in 2018 through Udemy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a reminder that coding was, for me, intrinsically rewarding. With each programming solution providing little bursts of dopamine, I was hooked. I officially decided to pursue a career in software engineering, and I switched majors. Unfortunately, after almost two years into my computer science degree, Covid happened. My college ended all in-person classes, and I ended up contracting a fairly severe case of the disease myself. I decided to leave college temporarily, as a direct result of the disease. Initially, I was discouraged, and I felt that Covid had completely changed the world of education. However, after a lot of successful self-guided learning, I can confidently say I have developed far more practical skills online than what I was receiving through traditional education.
I feel strongly that the traditional computer science taught in colleges could be a lot better. The bottom-up approach—the theoretical focus, and the weak practical skill development—is disappointing. Don't get me wrong, the fundamentals are important. And to be clear, I've studied fundamental CS concepts through my brick-and-mortar college, Harvard's introduction to computer science, and other online sources, all of which greatly captured my interest. I simply feel that the traditional approach to teaching students how to code is outdated. It's the top-down approach of diving headfirst into exciting projects and concepts that has allowed me to gain the necessary skills for this career, and most importantly, remain interested.
As of deploying my personal website, I am intrepidly entering the job market. I am currently looking for a full-time software engineering position, and I am excited to see what the future holds. I am confident that my passion for coding, and my ability to learn quickly, will allow me to succeed in this field, and be an asset to any team.
I love sharing what I know and helping others, so please feel free to reach out anytime. I look forward to connecting with you!
Harvard - CS50 - Introduction to Computer Science (10 weeks)
EdX Verified - Introduction to Computer Science (10 weeks)
FreeCodeCamp - Scientific Computing With Python (300 hours)
Udemy - Learn C# While Building a Mobile Platformer (20 hours)
Udemy - The Modern Python3 Bootcamp With Colt Steele (32 hours)
When I'm not coding up my next project, I'm usually spending time with my lovely wife. I love aviation too, so you might even find me at the local airport getting ready for what I like to call a therapy flight. I also enjoy the outdoors: hiking, biking, skating, and camping. And if I'm not outside, then I'm hiding in my house getting the reps in on my playstation controller. Finally, in case you're wondering, I also love owls, and I consider them to be my spirit animal!
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: Joshua Aguilar