About Me:

Born in Bath in 1973, I was a constant source of worry to my parents until I was old enough to read electrical safety warnings. There wasn't anything that I wouldn't try to take apart, and I suppose the only difference all those years made was that I can sometimes get things back together again...

An uncle gave me my first soldering iron for my 6th birthday. As they say, the rest is history. We moved to Surrey when I was 11, where I took GCSE's, A-levels and an electronics degree.

This led to a job with the BBC in Norwich... Initially just a short-term contract doing electronic maintenance, but after that an opening in IT support came up. I'd always been interested in computers, but hadn't really considered it as a career option until then. This was an enjoyable few years, particularly as I was able to do maintenance and get involved with engineering projects. After a while, I was also able to work on the engineering rota, which involved looking after the technical aspects of live broadcasting - which was sometimes very exciting!

One of the biggest benefits of BBC employment is the attachment scheme, which allows you to spend some time doing a different job within the BBC while your existing job is held open for you. This means you try something completely different with no risk - if things don't work out, you simply return back to your old way of life.

I mention this because a few years ago I was persuaded to try a teaching job. The BBC has an engineering training centre in Evesham which trains new recruits and established staff to a very high standard. While I've always enjoyed sharing infomation and helping people, I never thought I'd be able to stand up in front of a room full of people! But I had a fantastic time and found it really rewarding.

I returned to Norwich after nearly a year to enjoy the excitement of a building move and a new server-based TV system. But after being home for 6 months, a full-time job back at Evesham was advertised...

And eventually we've set up home in Worcestershire. The new house, a Victorian terrace, is a bit of a project... It's going to take some time, but I will eventually have a new workshop - one day!

Brief Resume:

Should you want to offer me a job ;-)

Skills:

• Electronics, particularly analogue and audio electronics. Currently learning PIC programming.
• Computing: Supported Micro$oft products for 6 years... Dabbled with Linux and Novell. Excellent with BBC BASIC (honest!), and still learning HTML and JavaScript.
• Teaching and training. Currently working for the BBC's engineering training centre.

Education:

• Electronics and Electrical Engineering (University of Surrey, 1991-95)
• Maths, Physics and Computer Studies A-Levels, plus 10 GCSE's from Warlingham School, Surrey (1985-91)

For further information, click here to contact me via email...