Introducing a member of staff: Ryan Breakspear, Senior Developer

2022 is a year of growth for Sitekit team! Please meet Ryan, our newest Senior Developer who joined Sitekit team back in May and managed to get super super busy with projects and getting to know Sitekit as a business. We spoke to Ryan about his background, things he loves and a piece of advice for up and coming developers.

Hi Ryan, it’s been a couple of months since you joined Sitekit. Tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you came to the point of being a Senior Developer? 

I’m based in Herefordshire, which is very pretty but a little far away from the Isle of Skye office so it’s a good job that Sitekit is a remote company! Prior to joining Sitekit I’d worked for a very small company for the last 10 years, in time and cost management software. I started there as an apprentice and gradually worked my way up the ladder.  


What lights you up outside of work, any passions or hobbies?

Live music, cooking, adventures and socialising! 


Why Sitekit and what is the best thing about working here?

Sitekit’s great because it’s small enough to care, but big enough that it’s involved in exciting conversations and projects – it also attracts great people to work with. I accepted Sitekit’s offer because they made me feel like it was the right decision for me and that I’d get the support I needed to progress in my career. I’m pleased to say I do feel supported, and I really enjoy working here – I finish nearly every day having learnt something new. The best thing about working here is knowing that the project I’m working on will make a massive difference to the NHS. 

It is always great to hear from someone who has more experience, so for our younger audience, what is your best piece of advice for developers who are just starting out?

If I think back to when I had just started it would be don’t give up. I think you have to change your mindset to understand how it works and when it “clicks” it’ll all make sense. Practice reading other people’s software and figuring out how it works, then you’ll learn to write it by an almost osmosis process. 


Do you have a 5-year plan? We would love to hear more about it!

At the moment, I feel that I’m the most junior of all the senior developers so it would be good if I could feel less like that over the next couple of years. Following that, it would be great to have a go at the architectural side of things.  
 


Quick Qs:

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? 
Canada – it’s got a bit of everything. Hot in the summer, snow in the winter, amazing scenery. It just looks like a really nice place to live! 

If you could change your career in a second, what would you do? 
A pilot, it’d be like going on holiday every few days! 

What’s your daily screen time?  
Haha, too long! Do you really work in IT if you don’t live on your computer? 

Number one item for your lunch?  
Love a toastie! 

Finishing work early or starting late? 

There’s no better feeling than an early finish! 

Post by Roberta Pavone

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