I'm Phillip Hetzel. I live in Portland, Oregon, where I pursue personal and technical growth.

Before I became a software engineer, I spent years in the service industry, with my most recent job at a brewery in Alameda. Though I loved the relationships I built, it wasn’t the healthiest lifestyle or all that rewarding. When the company closed their location at San Francisco, I was out of a job and knew that whatever I did next I needed a change. I tried a course on Coursera and made my first CRUD app. The feeling I got when I finished that project fulfilled me in a way that had been missing from my life. The next day I applied to the App Academy and got in. A year later I was a working full stack engineer. I loved the feeling of learning new things and making projects and the more I worked the more I began to see things in a bigger picture. I felt like I was a part of something: throughout humanity there are people that spread knowledge and share technology as continuing that legacy.

But it wasn’t all roses. Software engineering comes with overwhelm.

Like when a restaurant is too full, theres no stopping the momentum and folding to the pressure isn’t going to make anything better. In my experience there is so much to learn about software development that it can be overwhelming, You will always hit a wall at some point, whether it comes earlier or later, it will come, the key is to break the problem down into smaller parts and to never give up. My success in software development has come with confidence of knowing that I can learn anything and overcome any challenge.

My experience spans frontend and backend development, with a particular affinity for technologies like React, React Native, Python, and FastAPI. I’m constantly learning and evolving, driven by a genuine love for software and a commitment to staying ahead of the curve in areas like AI, cloud computing, and DevOps. I’ve worked extensively with cloud platforms, particularly Azure, and have become proficient in designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines to streamline development and deployment processes.

For my career, I want to keep connecting with what initially drew me to software: making a better world through technology.