Build, don't watch
A course shows me that something is possible. I've only understood it once I've built something with it that can break.
Stack
Tools, sorted honestly
No percentage bars. Nobody is 87 % good at SQL. Instead, the three categories that actually help in a conversation: what do I use daily, what do I have a solid command of, and what am I still working on.
Daily
in use, available without thinking
Solid
used productively, no looking things up
Building
understood, but not yet routine
Languages
daily · solid
- C#
- SQL
- JavaScript
- HTML
- CSS
- Python
C# and SQL are my daily work. I use JavaScript, HTML and CSS for interfaces and tools — this site is hand-built, without a framework.
Platform & frameworks
daily · solid
- .NET
- ASP.NET
- Windows environments
- Console & desktop applications
- Scheduled services
Most of what I build lives in the .NET world — from a small background service to a line-of-business application with a user interface.
Data
daily · solid
- Microsoft SQL Server
- PostgreSQL
- Data modelling
- Queries & reporting
- Migration & data maintenance
In the end almost everything lands in a database. A clean data model rescues a project more reliably than any clever line of code.
Interfaces & systems
daily · solid
- REST / JSON
- XML
- CSV import / export
- ERP environments
- Document management
- Forms & print templates
Work at the seam between two systems is rarely glamorous and almost always the work that makes the biggest difference.
Tools
daily
- Visual Studio
- VS Code
- Git
- SQL Server Management Studio
- Postman
- draw.io
Method
the underrated part
- Requirements analysis
- Software design
- Documentation
- Testing & acceptance
- Training & support
- Fault analysis
The ability to write a problem down precisely is worth more in this profession than any single programming language.
Still building
What I'm currently working on
Because “finished learning” is about as realistic in this profession as a project without change requests. These are the topics I wouldn't yet call myself an expert in — but am happy to be looking at.
Containerisation
Automated testing
CI / CD
Cloud fundamentals
Software architecture
If you know more than I do about any of these: I genuinely welcome the pointer.
Qualification
The qualification and the road to it
- 2024
- IT Specialist for Application Development
German vocational qualification (Fachinformatiker für Anwendungsentwicklung), awarded after completing a retraining programme - 2022 – 2024
- Retraining as an IT specialist in application development — programming, databases, software design, project work, IT systems
- 2021 – today
- More than 35 course certificates from online training: C#, web development, Python, databases, computing fundamentals
- ongoing
- Continuing education at work and in my own time — technical books, courses, personal projects
A note
Where the certificate wall went
The previous version of this site had a carousel with 35 certificate images. It was slightly proud and slightly unreadable — and both were fair, because every single one of them was an evening I would rather have spent watching television.
These days the wall hangs where it belongs: in the office. What's here instead is what came out of it. If you'd like to see a particular certificate, just ask — I'll happily send it over.
Explaining as the exam
If I can't explain a matter to a domain expert with no IT background, I haven't thought it through properly myself yet.
Write mistakes down
The most expensive mistake is the one you make twice. I keep notes on the things that cost me hours — I read those more often than any documentation.
Does that fit what you have in mind?
If a technology you need is missing from this list, ask anyway. Usually the question isn't which language, but which problem.