My name is Amber Barnes, and I'm currently looking for roles in software engineering. I've been technically inclined for a long time, and I have an extensive backgrounds with both mechanical engineering and computer science.
I previously attended Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL, where I sought a BSc in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. I completed 128 credit-hours between August 2018 and December 2021 with a 3.44 GPA, but unfortunately external life circumstances led me to stop attending university. Nonetheless, my education has provided me with an solid background in not only the pure quantitative aspects of mechanical engineering, but also with the engineering design process, working in teams with others to accomplish engineering tasks, and technical writing / communication. My learning at university also kickstarted my entry into the world of computer science, where I took multiple courses including Algorithms & Data Structures working in Java.
Over the recent years I've aimed to steadily ramp up my skillset and work on projects that can display my skills at solving software design challenges. I've recently reached a point of maturity in my skillset where my expertise with using different programming languages, using different tools, and solving different kinds of problems has given me the confidence that I can excel in a wide variety of software engineering roles in the right environment.
Before I considered myself a software engineer, I considered myself a mechanical engineer. My time at university exposed me to many software tools to cover multiple aspects of the engineering design process, even less flashy ones.
Though I had dabbled before, I finally started using Linux as a daily driver when I built my current desktop PC, "Prism", in Feb 2023. I installed Garuda Linux at the time, though I've recently (Nov 2024) switched over to CachyOS. Both are Arch-based distros that have a few extra tools built on top out-of-the-box; I like the customizability and granularity of Arch, but for my desktop that I use for gaming, I like to have a distro that has some stuff set up for me.
In May 2024, I replaced my ASUS laptop with a Framework 13. Framework really impressed me with their packaging, presentation, and customizability - Very minimal plastic but robust packaging. I had to do a little bit of assembly, since I bought the R5 version but upgraded the RAM to 16GB, didn't want to pay for preinstalled Windows 11, and used an M.2 drive I already had - A Windows 10 installation that I had used maybe 10 times which was sitting collecting dust in my desktop PC. My laptop runs on a highly customized Arch Linux installation, and I have an extensive set of dotfiles for the configuration and features that are a constant work-in-progress.