My name is Chris Lees and I'm a software developer currently living in the New York City area (specifically Jersey City). I've been developing software for the internet for a little over 10 years now using a host of different technologies and languages.

EARLY YEARS

I originally went to school for graphic design thinking it was where I wanted to go. The problem I soon realized was: graphic design was too subjective for me. I've always liked creating, but professionally I'd like to know if the things I'm making are what the client/customer really wants. You could be the best graphic designer in the world, and still create things the people don't like.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

My first real job right out of school was answering phone calls for a computer peripheral manufacturer called Micro Innovations. Although not the most desirable job I felt good about it. I've always had a thing for technology, and I genuinely do like helping people so this was a win-win for me. After doing this for a little while it started to wear on me. Although I was helping people, I didn't feel like I was challenging myself enough answering the same questions for people all day long. So I was loaned to one of our partners, Compaq, to start writing manuals for the products I had been troubleshooting.

TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

Writing technical documentation for computer peripherals ended up being a little harder than you would expect. It turns out, there's a very thin line you have to walk as to not be too technical to scare regular people off, but technical enough to get the point across that you're trying to make. The Compaq project ended and the HP project started. The beauty of this job was I also got to utilize my graphic design skills by doing technical illustrations as well. Finally both projects came to an end and I had a choice: go back to answering phones or move on to something else.

NERDY RABBIT HOLE

After the Compaq and HP projects were finished, I was shipped back to my first job at Micro Innovations answering phone calls. I felt like this was a step back and started weighing my options. Coincidentally, at the same time the call center was being bombarded with tons of calls about the new products we released.

Being on the smaller side, Micro Innovations wasn't equipped with workflow it needed to effectively handle this volume of calls. Being that there was no call-logging software in place, repeat callers would get frustrated with the lack of professionalism on our part. That's when I realized what my next move could be... I would make a call logging application. Luckily my manager was okay with paying me to sit around and learn ColdFusion while the rest of the department slaved away on the phones (thanks Al!).

Luckily I knew a little HTML, CSS and JavaScript from my high school days so the barrier for entry wasn't that low. But, as any developer will tell you, you can't just know one language and expect to get by. Further down the nerdy rabbit hole.