Guest Profile:

Kevin Horgan, Front End Web Developer, University of South Florida

Previous experience: Vertafore, SNWorks

Studied Computer Science at Michigan State University

Things to keep in mind for people who want to work in front end web development:

A formal education in web development is not required to work in the field - there are a lot of resources out there to learn

Hands on experience of getting into the code and working on a project is critically important for developing the proper skills to be successful in front end web development

New technologies come out all the time, so being able to adapt is critical; and you will never know them all, nor do you need to

Building a portfolio and taking on projects will help you present yourself when looking for roles in front end web development

There is more to the job than just coding - you need to be able to work collaboratively and with others across departments

You need to be able to communicate beyond the technical language to people who are not technical

Working on the front end of a website, you get immediate feedback based on your work

Interview process for web development is often times a kind of test

HTML, CSS, and Javascript are the bare minimum coding languages to know

Insights:

Having a focus on web development in school and through his job provided great exposure to the field

Being open to learning from other members of the business will help you grow as an individual

Adaptability is your best friend for staying current in your field

Starting with the basics will give you a foundation for learning that you can build on in the future

Rapid Fire-Round:

What Kevin wanted to be when he was a kid: James Bond

Best resource for career-related information: Redditt

What helps Kevin when he has a bad day at work: Coming home and seeing his dog Sawyer and listening to some music

Kevin’s favorite experience from his job: Getting to work with his team

Best part of Kevin’s work day today: Successfully launching a campaign

Advice:

Focus on the skills that you have a knack for and work to get as much real-world experience where you can leverage those skills

You are presenting yourself in the interviews, not necessarily the tactical skills that you will use - most of those will be learned on the job.

Why should someone want to be in front end web development

You get to work on technology that is used by a large amount of people every day

It is never boring and is always changing

Get in touch with Kevin Horgan - Linkedin, [email protected], www.kevinhorganweb.com