Josh has always had a passion for programming. What began as a childhood interest from the age of seven became a true passion in his teenage years and eventually a source of income once he started building and monetising his own games. By the time he joined Eastleigh College he knew he wanted a career in this industry, and the theory, knowledge and system building tools he acquired during his time here have been the launchpad into an exciting new role at a California-based software development company.
When Josh first joined Eastleigh College in 2021, he was no stranger to Computer Science. He’d been creating games on online gaming system Roblox as far back as 2012 and had already spent a summer at games developer company Hyper Penguin when he joined us at age 16. Despite Josh’s advanced knowledge, studying at Eastleigh College was not an easy transition, having been homeschooled up until this point in his education. The Eastleigh College Computer Science course particularly appealed to Josh as it had a heavier emphasis on practical programming whereas other courses were more theory based.
Josh emerged from his college studies with the highest grade possible – a Distinction – as well as an extensive and diverse portfolio of work (pictured is an example). Both of these achievements were key in helping him secure a full-time job at Sawhorse Productions, a production company based in Los Angeles. Josh currently works remotely for the company from the UK and works around American time difference, often starting work at midday and not finishing until late in the evening.
A lot of people overestimate the difficulty of programming but the reality is it is relatively straightforward as long as you’re willing to put in the time to learn and practice the skills.
Josh said: “I am really excited to have joined this company, who have worked with big brands and big names such as Elton John, Walmart and Karlie Kloss. My time as a freelancer gave me a lot of experience in the field and my plan is to balance this new role alongside a university degree in Games Technology, through which my developer skills will grow further still.”
Dom Youel was Josh’s lecturer in Computer Science during his time at Eastleigh College. He commented: “Josh is a remarkably talented programmer and it’s brilliant to see the inroads he’s been making as a ‘front page’ Roblox developer. We wish him continued success into the future.”
The future is looking bright for Josh. He has recently been invited to a specialist Roblox Developer conference in San Francisco and is set to begin his Computer Games technology degree later this year at University of Portsmouth.