Joe

I coded my first plain HTML website when I was 11, using Frontpage. It was horrible, but I thought it was freakin' awesome!

While I should have been doing my maths homework, I was learning more about HTML, CSS and starting to get my head around backend programming with PHP and databases.

By the time I was 15 I was developing fully-functioning websites for small business and even for my school at the time (hounding your school for money they owe you is the best thing ever when you're 15, by the way).

Work experience week arrived towards the end of year 10, and luckily my IT teacher lived next to a fine chap by the name of Jamie Freeman who she suggested I contact for work experience in his web design company, Message. After pondering between this or Tesco for approximately 2 seconds, I fired off an email to Jamie who kindly accepted.

In my last year at school, I came back in half terms for a few days at a time to help out with odd jobs, whilst I applied to some college courses I wasn't all that excited about.

Just before my GCSE exams, Jamie offered me a full-time job at Message when I break free from the shackles of mandatory education. Needless to say, I accepted and have never regretted the decision.

I'm now the lead developer at Message and work on most of the big (and small) projects we deal with. I also hold the record for skinniest jeans in the history of the company.