My path into software development was not traditional. I spent 25 years working in plumbing before moving into inside sales. While working in sales, management deployed a third-party business application that included a C++ scripting window for creating custom modules and extending the software.
That became my introduction to programming. One of the first problems I solved was figuring out how to add sales representative initials to a report. It was a small change, but it showed me that I could modify software to better fit the way the business actually worked. From there, I continued learning, building increasingly complex solutions, and eventually moved into application development and IT.
I became increasingly involved in SQL, reporting, automation, application support, and internal tooling, eventually moving into full-stack development with Laravel, PHP, JavaScript, SQL Server, Blade, Tailwind CSS, mapping APIs, and Power BI.
Today, much of my work centers on designing and maintaining internal business applications that connect data, workflows, users, and operational systems.
My professional career began in the plumbing trade. Field work taught me to estimate projects, plan installations, troubleshoot problems, work within real-world constraints, and be accountable for the finished result.
I completed a copper repipe spanning the entire western side of this home, including water distribution from the garage through the bathrooms and ultimately feeding the kitchen.
I estimated the project at two weeks and completed it on day ten.
I oversaw the trenching for this commercial main sewer replacement, including excavation and grading of the trench bed for the new system.
One of the more specialized projects I worked on was a debubbler installation for a defense contractor. The installation incorporated custom-cut and threaded 6-inch stainless-steel nipples.
That project led to continued work throughout the facility, including installing and relocating numerous COâ‚‚ drops.
Estimating & Supervision
I identified the required replacement, prepared the estimate, won the tenant's project, and directed employees through the replacement process and installation.
Commercial Plumbing
Part of a team installation of this 6-inch commercial backflow-prevention assembly.
Moving into inside sales changed the nature of the problems I was solving. Instead of performing the installation myself, I worked with contractors and customers to understand what an application required and source the components needed to make it work.
Moving into wholesale plumbing sales gave me a different way to use the experience I had gained in the field. I understood the products from the installer's side, which helped me work through unusual applications, identify alternatives, source specialized material, and help customers solve problems beyond simply filling an order.
I developed into a strong sales performer, generating approximately $688,000 in sales in one year. A significant part of my work involved non-stock and application-specific products that required research, sourcing, and an understanding of how the components would actually be used in the field.
My customers ranged from plumbing contractors to municipalities and government entities. I became the primary sales representative for accounts including OC Parks, building ongoing relationships rather than simply handling individual transactions.
One of the largest individual projects I supported was the renovation of a correctional camp facility in the Los Angeles mountains. I supplied approximately $600,000 in material over the course of the project.
The scope ranged from everyday plumbing material to custom and application-specific components, along with major mechanical equipment, including two full-size boiler units serving the inmate facilities.
I coordinated material across numerous product categories, worked through specifications and unusual requirements, sourced non-stock components, and supported the customer as the renovation progressed.
A large part of technical sales was figuring out what an application actually required and then finding, configuring, or having the right component made. These are a few examples of the specialized products I sourced for customers.
Application-Specific Equipment
A commercial backflow-prevention assembly sourced as a complete application-specific package. Technical sales often meant working beyond individual catalog items to identify, configure, and source complete assemblies around the customer's system requirements.
Filtration
Filtration equipment selected around the customer's water, operating conditions, installation requirements, and intended application.
Instrumentation
Gauges, fittings, and related components configured or sourced to meet requirements that standard off-the-shelf products couldn't always satisfy.
Field work taught me how things are built. Technical sales expanded that into customers, specifications, sourcing, projects, and business operations. My move into IT gave me the opportunity to apply that same problem-solving approach to technology and, eventually, software.
My role at AHMC grew from part-time data entry and segment work into technical support, application development, and broader business systems responsibilities. Working directly with the people using those systems gave me the opportunity to understand not only the technology, but the operational problems behind it.
Supporting users and company technology gave me direct exposure to the systems behind daily operations. My responsibilities expanded beyond endpoint support into Microsoft 365, Active Directory, SQL Server, APIs, Power BI, reporting, and internal business data.
Working with the data changed the kinds of problems I could solve. Instead of only addressing individual technical issues, I could begin identifying disconnected workflows, repetitive processes, and opportunities to improve how information moved through the business.
Highway inventory is inherently geographic, but much of the underlying business information existed as data rather than something users could easily explore visually. I began building tools that connected operational segment data to an interactive geographic interface.
The work grew into browser-based mapping applications for exploring markets, routes, highway segments, availability, and other operational information through a map rather than rows of disconnected data.
As my development work expanded, individual tools began evolving into a broader business platform. Central Ops brings company workflows and data into a Laravel application designed around the way the organization actually operates.
The platform spans sales, contracts, operations, pricing, reporting, geospatial tools, and internal IT workflows while integrating existing company data and external services.
Building it requires more than writing code. Much of the work is understanding an existing business process, determining where the data comes from, identifying what users actually need, and designing the application around those constraints.
Whether I was laying out a plumbing system, sourcing a custom component, supporting a business process, or designing an application, the starting point has remained the same: understand how the system works, find what's getting in the way, and build a practical solution.