It’s (sadly) the last day of National Coding Week, meaning it’s the end of this series. That doesn’t mean we won’t be posting. We definitely will, so keep your eyes peeled.

Today we’ll be chatting to one of our frontend developers about his journey to becoming one. We hope this inspires others to continue advancing their skills within the tech industry!

We're chatting with Pedro Fidalgo, Frontend Developer at Mindera UK — a rapidly expanding software company situated in Leicester city centre.

How did you get started as an engineer/developer?

“I started coding in high school. I kept doing it in college but it only got serious when I decided to dedicate myself to it 100% and started to learn JavaScript at home.”

What technology/tools do you use to fulfil your potential in your role?

“I mainly use React.JS here. Sometimes I bring Redux into my projects as well.

“I also feel comfortable using Node.JS with Express. The tool I use the most is VSCode (Visual Studio Code) for sure. It’s my favourite IDE (integrated development environment) and it’s super lightweight!”

What programming languages/frameworks can you work with?

“My programming language of choice is JavaScript, 100%. I just love its versatility. You can do both front end and back end with it, so it’s amazing because you can know a language and work as a frontend and backend developer. I can work with React.JS, and Express on top of Node.JS.”

Can you describe your experience with them?

“I totally love React.JS. I love its modularity and it’s easy to use. It makes your life super easy because it’s easy to maintain in a big team.”

If you could master one technology this year, what would it be?

“I want to keep improving my back end skills, so for me this means improving my Node.JS knowledge.”

What skills are required to be a successful coder?

“In my opinion, the most important “skill” is to be passionate about what you’re doing. If you’re super passionate about it, you’ll eventually become a skilful developer.

“The second most important skill for me is to be curious. If you’re curious you’ll always want to learn more and understand how stuff works.

“So, for me, those two are the most important “skills” to be a developer. You can be super good with numbers but if you’re not passionate and curious about what you do, you could end up being an average developer.”

What advice would you give to people who are interested in a career at Mindera?

“My advice would be to understand the basics of your tools. I see tons of developers who barely have knowledge of JavaScript and just jump to learn React.JS. Then in the future, they will shoot themselves in the foot because they lack basic knowledge because they wanted to arrive at the end of the road by not going through the process of walking on the road.

“Then just apply. Some people are super scared of the recruitment process.

“I can tell you, at Mindera, you’ll meet amazing people, and your interview will be super fun and relaxed! You’ll end up learning some stuff too!” How do you achieve a work-life balance at Mindera?

“I love that Mindera cares about our wellbeing. So, if you’re not feeling okay, you know you will have the support of your team if you take a sick day.

“Alternatively, there is flexibility to start work a little later in the day if you need to.

“Sometimes it’s hard to switch off after you leave work because you’re always thinking of how to solve that problem or bug. But you have to learn to switch off and enjoy life, and then come back the next day with a fresh mind.”

Interested in working at Mindera?

We have various vacancies available at Mindera UK. Check them out!

Are you interested in our services?

We build high-performance, resilient, and scalable software systems to enable businesses across locations. Check out our website to learn more.