We recently had the privilege of having Jack Arens, Lead Software Architect at Layer as a guest speaker for the West Virginia Coding Club.
Jack grew up with a constant interest in repairing and building things. He grew up in a small town in Nebraska that didn't offer any coding or engineering classes in school. However, he got exposed to computers and started to learn to code. He learned HTML and CSS and then started a website design business while he was in High School.
Jack was selected as a National Youth Science Camp 2017 delegate representing Nebraska. (https://www.nysacademy.org/programs/nyscamp/), a prestigious program where only two graduating high school seniors from each State are selected each year to attend this multiple week STEAM program. His exposure to technology was enhanced at the National Youth Science Camp.
Jack attended the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (https://www.unl.edu/), Raikes School of Computer Science and Business (https://raikes.unl.edu/). He earned a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering; however it also incorporated Business and Mathematics. This combination supported his passions, but also gave him a strong and broad base for his career.
Studies included:
Mathematics:
Calculus I, II and III and Differential Equations
Algorithms:
Writing Efficient Code
Innovation Processes:
Problem Solving
Embedded Systems:
Robotics and hardware design
Operating Systems:
How computers actually work
Business Law:
Law & Ethics
During his college career, Jack sought out and participated in multiple internships including two Summers with Northrup Grumman, one with Honeywell (remote), Marble and then Layer. A friend reached out and connected during college as an intern then transitioned as an employee.
Layer (https://layer.team) is startup based out of Lincoln, Nebraska that has developed a flexible data and workflow platform for buildings called Layer. It empowers teams to capture field data and photos, connect it to their drawings and models, and create beautiful deliverables and reports. They currently have seven full-time employees and are growing. Layer started as a work solution/tool for an architecture firm and is now a growing startup.
Computer languages Jack has mainly worked with:
HTML & CSS (Markup languages)
PHP in HS
C & Java in college
JavaScript at Layer
Jack's tips for Education:
Get involved with groups, jobs, events
Try to understand what’s going on - Don’t just complete homework
Realize life isn’t a race - not always about how fast, make sure you enjoy and learn
Advice from Jack:
Write “Good” Code
Spend time doing lots of Problem Solving
Spend time doing lots of Projects/Practice
It’s not a race - enjoy yourself
Work hard to understand what’s going on
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Advice regarding Coding:
Be inquisitive on why it works
Learn to understand how it works, which helps you to find bugs
Rubber Duck Debugging - If you are having a problem with the code, try to explain it to the rubber duck and ask for help, then if the duck doesn’t answer, ask someone for help.
Comment your code to help you and others understand it!
A Work Day in Jack's Life:
Stand Up daily meeting
2-3 planning meetings a week
Coding / Debugging
Planning and Architecting New systems
Implementing Designs
In the end we are making rocks think. . .building a device with materials from the Earth. That device is interactive and can assist us in our lives. So, it is exciting to learn how to make things run on a rock.
Dan McElroy, President of the WV Coding Club shared, "Many thanks to Jack for his insights and advice to our West Virginia Coding Club students. Thank you!"
Keep Coding!