In 2006, I moved to Houston with my fiancé looking for better opportunities, more money, affordable housing (FL rental market was insane), and to experience a new lifestyle in a new city. Within a month, I found a job as a software engineer at JCC, an oil and gas consulting firm.

I didn’t plan to stay for 13 years, but I loved my job. Loved my team. We were modernizing an old industry. For many of our clients, technology equated to a system of spreadsheets saved to a network. We changed this. On the days when we’d unveil a new app, it was a rush. To see our code and software being used to solve the problems of leading industry players…it was a high and something I’ll always be proud of. The years flew by.

Then the pandemic struck and like many others, I lost my job. I got the dreaded call in January this year letting me know my position had been eliminated. My heart sank. After a few days of shock, I got my plan together. Take a few weeks off to recharge, then get serious about my next move. For a while, I went mountain biking daily, played frisbee golf in the park, banged on the drums. To keep from feeling like a total bum, I cleaned the garage, fixed the leaky toilet, cleaned the gutters and did other adult stuff.

As satisfying as it was, after a few weeks I was ready to start my next challenge. Plus, I’d eventually need to make some money. I started to pull together my resume.

I feel confident in the body of work I’ve produced over the years, the hard skills I’ve mastered and the senior programmer I’ve become. I’ve built this site as a highlight reel with case studies that tell a story…the business need that came about, how it was solved, the technology used, and my role in each of these projects. I invite you to click around and read some or all of them.

As a software engineer, I write a lot of code. I write documentation explaining that code. I write technical specs, flow charts, and standard operating procedures. It’s rare that I write about me. But here I am doing exactly that. Why? Because if I’m going to use this website to land my next job successfully, I’ve got to let people know what drives me, beyond the part that involves a computer. My next opportunity has to be all about teamwork. Sharing in the thrill of launching something new. Overcoming the frustration of hitting a dead-end. Knowing that together we can make a difference.

I’ve been fortunate to have worked with a lot of talented and admirable people. I’m eager to connect with more. Please contact me if this is you.

Mike