Find out more about me and my experiences both throughout my life and
throughout my career. I think our experiences are what shape us and help
us develop our best skills and I try to put these to good use every day.
I am a 22 year old web developer and live in Exeter in the South West of England. I graduated from The University of Exeter in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science and now work as a freelance web developer and search engine optimisation specialist.
I have worked with a variety of clients and organisations of assorted sizes across the world, supplying the highest quality products and services. I have a constantly growing portfolio of both web development and search engine optimisation projects.
Being extremely passionate about the internet and all the surrounding technologies, I often find myself working on projects both small and large, around my work allowing me to explore trends and gain valuable experience in what works and what doesn't.
I am currently working on several projects aimed at the citizens of Exeter and its surrounding towns and villages. I'm also working on projects for the modelling industry and modern day communication tools.
If you would like to get in touch and have a chat about any aspect of my work, then please do not hesitate to do so. I am always happy to hear from people, whether I can provide you with a service, information or just a friendly conversation.
I was born in Portsmouth, England on May 17th 1986 to my parents Walter West (a professional snooker player) and Francis West (a talented chef).
I attended several schools during my early years until the family settled in Colyton, Devon when I was 8. At this young age I was already setting the path for my career by taking responsibility for the school's only computer and expanding my maths skills at home in the evenings. I had a strong passion for mathematics and enjoyed testing myself for speed an accuracy; something which has stayed with me and helped me throughout my life.
After completing primary education, I moved to The Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis and attained GCSE qualifications. In addition I took a keen role in extra-curricular drama and public speaking. I continued my computer studies but primarily during my own spare time. I found that the IT education provided at secondary school was well below what I had already taught myself at this age. Like many people who grew up in the 90s, I spent many hours behind a computer learning and teaching myself whatever I could.
At the age of 16, I completed my studies at secondary school and moved to Exeter College to study for a BTEC National Diploma IT Practitioners (Software Development). These two years provided some intense life experiences for me, with my first serious long term relationship and the death of my father. These events however, helped me to develop a better understanding of the harsh realities of life. Although not always enjoyable, it has greatly impacted upon the person I am today.
At the University of Exeter I studied Computer Science for 3 years. During these years I spent much of my spare time working on various web projects to expand my experience and learn as much as I could. With my long term relationship ending and falling ill, I found daily life to be a continuous fight. This again has contributed to my life experience and helped me develop my philosophy to keep going no matter how bad things may seem at the time.
My passion for website development has always been strong. When leaving university I discovered the problems that many students entering the workforce suffer - being rejected for positions on the basis of having no office-based experience despite having years of proven freelance work behind me. I therefore took a more generic IT position at a company called Integrity (Europe) Ltd where I gathered a valuable insight into how companies work and the role of a website from the point of view of the client. When the time was right, I decided to leave Integrity to further my career and explore the options that were available to me as I continued to enhance my abilities.
I then took a position at a web agency called Webeurope. Working there gave me valuable experience of working in fast-paced commercial web design and client-facing search engine optimisation.
Eventually I decided to take the plunge towards my dream and now work for myself full time. I have been doing this for a while now and am finding the variety of work and clients very fulfilling.
My childhood has taught me to overcome anything that is thrown at me. I now look to the future with a positive attitude and am ready for what the world will throw at me next.