Hello, I'm
Jesse Pence
I'm a web developer.
const mySpecialty = (customerNeeds: NoProblem, bestPractices: WebStandards) => { const { hopes, dreams } = customerNeeds; const { accessibility, performance } = bestPractices; const coolWebsite = (hopes + dreams) / (accessibility + performance); return coolWebsite; };
Portfolio
About Me
I want to help your company grow!
Resourceful
While I won't back down from a challenge, I'm also not afraid to ask for help when I need it. No one knows everything. In this industry, we're all constantly learning from each other. That's why I'm looking for a company where I can grow by working with experienced developers.Prolific
While I only know JavaScript for now, I can build a website using over eight different front-end frameworks, and I can build a back-end using Node, Deno, Bun, or even using only serverless functions. I'm constantly learning and working on something new. Check out my portfolio to see what I've been up to lately.I spent the first 15 years of my career in the service industry. I worked my way up from dishwasher to bartender to manager, and I learned a lot along the way. Valuable lessons such as the importance of humility, the value of hard work, and the courage to ask for help when you need it-- all of these things have helped me become the person I am today.
Communication is key. I'm a firm believer that you can learn something from everyone you meet, and I pride myself on my ability to effectively encapsulate my ideas into words. Whether it be in person or in my tech articles, I try my best to break down complex ideas into simple terms that anyone can understand.
I like to think that I bring a unique perspective to the table, but I also try to keep an open mind when I disagree with others. You never know when it can be an opportunity to learn something new. The main goal should always be solving the problem at hand-- not to be the smartest person in the room.
I've always been a creative person. I've been a musician for 20 years, and I've been writing for even longer. To me, programming is just another creative outlet. There are a million different ways to solve every problem, and I love trying to find the most elegant solution. I'm looking for a company that will allow me to use this creativity to help them grow.
Experience
Web Developer
Jovial Penguin 2022 - PresentI'm currently working as a freelance web developer. I've built a few websites used in production by small businesses. My biggest project to date is a complete CMS for a small thrift store built using React Server Components. It allows the owners to update every single aspect of their website without having to write a single line of code, and it's blazing fast!
I'm also constantly working on open source projects-- both on my own and with other developers. My most popular project has been jessquery. I built it as a challenge to myself to see how many features I could fit into a jQuery-esque library using modern web APIs with only 5kb of code after gzip. It's over nine times smaller than jQuery, and it's able to do so much more than jQuery ever could.
It includes automatic error handling and promise unwrapping, HTML streaming and server-sent events, and a ton of other features. I think I did pretty well. It currently has just over fifty stars on Github. Please, feel free to check out my Portfolio to see some of my other work.
Bar Manager
Buck's Restaurant 2018 - 2020My last restaurant job was bar manager of a fine-dining steakhouse in the heart of Old Louisville, Kentucky. I was responsible for training new employees, managing the bar, ordering inventory, and ensuring that the restaurant ran smoothly when the general manager was not present. I also curated multiple cocktail menus which gave me the opportunity to flex my creative muscles.
Covid-19 and my step-father's death forced me to move here to Portland, Oregon. During this time, I quit drinking and decided to pursue a career in web development. Sometimes, I miss the restaurant industry, but I'm grateful that this disruption in my life allowed me to discover my true passion. And, I think that my creativity and leadership skills that I honed as a bar manager will serve me well as a developer.