What does your role involve?
What programming language do you use?
All of our applications use JavaScript in the front end which is the first language I learned at Dev Academy Aotearoa and it’s the coding language I enjoy working in the most. We use a range of other languages and technologies on our applications which have taken me a while to get my head around. But I enjoy having a wide range of tools I can use and understand. I think that is one of the benefits of working at a services company like Catalyst.
What are you working on?
Two of the websites we maintain are called Death Documents(external link) and SmartStart(external link). Death Documents is a website that allows Medical professionals to submit death certificates and coroner’s reports online rather than using paper forms. SmartStart has a range of services for new parents including allowing them to register the birth of their new baby online. I think it’s interesting to work on these two applications which cover both ends of a person’s lifespan and aim to make difficult life events a bit easier for those involved.
What does your typical day look like?
A typical day for me varies quite a lot depending on what applications require work at different times. Often I will work on different things throughout the day from software upgrades to building new features to helping with requests from users to reset their passwords.
I work in a team that prioritises working in person so I am generally in the Wellington office which I enjoy because it is quite social. We tend to do the Post quiz every morning in the shared kitchen which is a good way to meet people from across the company. Sometimes I will meet with clients and discuss issues in our applications that need to be fixed or help with planning new features.