Introduction
I am a Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) with more than 15 years experience in the IT industry specializing in ASP.NET, C#, Silverlight, Visual Studio, Expression Suite, SQL Server, and related technologies.
After graduating from the University of Bristol in 1993 with an Honours Degree in Computer Science I spent six years consulting for many blue chip companies. I worked as a self-employed trainer for some of the largest Microsoft Certified Technical Education Centers in the UK. I have trained thousands of programmers.
But I'm not just a teacher — I've also developed production applications for Exxon, Oxfam, the Department for Education and Employment and many other blue chip organizations.
In 1999 I applied for an H-1B visa so that I could work full-time for a large organization in the US and gain experience and skills I could not if I remained in the UK. I worked as a Senior Developer in the IT department of one of the top twenty law firms in the US. I mentored the developer team and built a custom intranet based on Microsoft technologies such as COM, ASP and SQL Server that integrated with an existing document management and billing system.
Between 2001 and 2003, I worked for Microsoft at their main campus in Redmond writing Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) courseware, used worldwide to teach Microsoft products.
Early in 2003 I collaborated with the SQL Server Product Group to write lab exercises to give early adopter partners such as SAP hands-on experience with Microsoft SQL Server 2005, code-named "Yukon".
For family reasons, in February 2003 I left Microsoft to move to Spain where I worked remotely with a team to update MOC course 2717. I worked on a contract basis on other projects until late 2004.
During 2005 I took a sabbatical to pursue my interest in screenwriting. I attended Vancouver Film School for a year and then returned to the IT industry in the UK in early 2006.
I currently work as a freelance trainer and programmer working primarily with Visual Studio 2008, Expression Suite including Blend, and SQL Server.
Professional Qualifications
I am a Charter Member of the original Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) qualification, being one of the first 100 people worldwide to pass the original exams in May 1995, and I was an Early Achiever for the MCSD on Microsoft .NET qualification.
I have now achieved the highest qualifications for Windows, Web and SQL Server database developers (MCPD, MCITP) and I am an active MCT.
My MCP Transcript lists the Microsoft certifications and 30+ exams that I have passed.
Experience & Work History
IT Trainer & Consultant, Self-Employed
January 2006 - present
I currently provide development and training services to my clients. I have experience developing internet and intranet applications using ASP.NET, Silverlight and AJAX, Windows applications using C# and Visual Basic, and databases using SQL Server.
Student, Vancouver Film School
January 2005 - December 2005
I took a sabbatical to study Writing for Film, Television and Interactive Media at Vancouver Film School. I successfully graduated on 16th December 2005.
IT Trainer & Consultant, Self-employed
February 2003 - November 2004
I provided .NET training boot camps for Hewlett Packard and Microsoft to get their developers passed the MCSD .NET exams. I also worked on two projects for Microsoft: via Content Master: the first as a SME and the second as a Technical Writer.
Subject Matter Expert, Microsoft Corp
April 2001 - January 2003
I worked for Microsoft's Training and Certification group in Redmond, WA as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on the teams that produced the following MOC courseware:
- 2389: Programming with Microsoft ADO.NET
- 2663: Programming with XML in the Microsoft .NET Framework
- 2657: Programming Microsoft Access 2002
I also contributed to the following MOC courseware:
- 2565: Developing Microsoft .NET Applications for Windows (Visual Basic .NET)
- 2555: Developing Microsoft .NET Applications for Windows (Visual C# .NET)
- 2556: Developing Mobile Applications Using the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework
- 2500: Introduction to XML and the Microsoft .NET Platform
- 2717: Introduction to Microsoft .NET Development
Senior Developer, Pillsbury Madison & Sutro LLP
October 1999 - March 2001
Pillsbury Madison & Sutro LLP (now Pillsbury Winthrop LLP) is an international law firm based in San Francisco. As a Senior Developer I was responsible for mentoring junior developers as well as leading the development efforts on the firm's intranet and customized Windows applications.
IT Trainer & Consultant, Self-employed
June 1995 - September 1999
I ran my own business for more than four years, providing development and training services to my clients who included national and local government, large and small businesses, charities, and major training companies. I consulted and developed Visual Basic, Microsoft Access and Microsoft Office applications for Barclays Bank, Ford Motor Company, Department of Education, Department of Defense, Westdeutsche Landes Bank, Esso Engineering (Exxon), and many more. I ran developer training classes for most of the larger CTECs in the UK including Azlan, Barefoot, Comtec, Prince, SHX, and many more. Most classes were on Microsoft Visual Basic (version 3.0 to 6.0) but I also taught Microsoft Office Development, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Visual InterDev, and Windows Architecture and Solution Design.
Training Consultant, SHX plc
May 1993 - May 1995
After graduating from university I worked for two years for SHX plc of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. I had responsibility for writing training materials, running training courses, and doing systems analysis and implementation of development projects for clients, primarily using Microsoft Access and Microsoft Visual Basic.
Education
University (1990-1993)
I studied Computer Science for three years at the University of Bristol in the UK and earned an Honors Degree in the summer of 1993.
High School (1983-1990)
At Bishop Wordworth's School in Salisbury, Wiltshire, I passed nine GCSE exams in 1988 at grades A-C and three "A" Level exams in 1990: Mathematics (B), Chemistry (B), Physics (C).