About

Thanks for visiting! I’m Austin Parker, a software developer from Los Angeles. I made this website to showcase my projects and catalog some lessons learned.

Background

I started coding back in my second year of college. I still had no idea what I wanted to study back then, leaning toward history just because it was interesting. My mom “gently” suggested that I find a job with more financial stability. I agreed because I was lazy…also because she’s scary, man.

My first CompSci professor was amazing. He eased us into the subject while stoking our interest in learning more. I was really bad at first, struggling with simple concepts like loops. My first “this is awesome” moment was slogging through a tough problem until I finally got my solution working. It was frustrating at first, but the goalposts were clear and each iteration brought me closer. Finally getting there felt awesome! It scratched that puzzle-solving itch and convinced me I could make it in Computer Science.

So here I am! I landed my first internship in web development and continued down that path. I’ve worked in different tech stacks, business domains, and team situations. My work is split about 70/30 between the backend and frontend, though I’m comfortable working full-time in either. I’m also studying game design, machine learning, and Japanese to open some doors. This site should help me brainstorm ways to apply those skills.

Values

Curiosity. Learn something new every day, even if it’s just memorizing a flashcard. Always keep a sense of forward momentum.
Flexibility. Avoid getting bogged down in routines that make the world seem smaller than it actually is. Try to meet new people and find new opportunities.
Resilience. Don’t pretend failure doesn’t matter. Reflect on it and bounce back.

Skills

Java
C++
C#
Python
Kotlin
Spring Framework
JS/HTML/CSS
Typescript
Node.js
Vue.js
React.js
Maven
PowerShell
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Docker
Kubernetes
Unity
PostgreSQL
Oracle
Selenium
Web Security
API Design
Release Coordination
Code Collaboration
Business Partnership
Japanese