Jonathan Deroo

Schaarbeek - Brussels - (488) 75 82 83 ยท deroo (dot) jon@gmail.com

Currently training as a Java developer with full-stack ambitions.

Experience

Java Enterprise Developer

Intec Brussel

Learning advanced Java techniques, integration with frontend and SQL databases. A stimulating and highly multicultural environment. As IDE we mostly use IntelliJ, but I also have experience with VS Code. We have also been using Git and Github from the beginning of the course (thank you Hilal!).
Everything is taught using Windows, so I am always trying to figure out how to use the tools in Linux by myself.

Sep 2023 - Present

Terminologist

European Commission Translation Service - English Department

  • Researching and documenting English terminology using the IATE database
  • Giving presentations about terminology to visiting student groups
  • Mentoring interns ("Blue Books")

September 2013 - August 2020

Junior Consultant and Testing Coordinator

GITP Brussels

  • Organising assessment centres and e-testing.
  • Writing and translating assessment reports.
  • Conducting and observing role-playing exercises.

March 2004 - December 2011

Self Employed Translator

Technical translations into English from Dutch, French and German.

  • Translated technical and medical texts.
  • Use of translation software (Trados Workbench, WordFast)
  • Client management, invoicing, accountancy



September 1992 - February 2004

Military Service as Reserve Officer

Armoured Infantry (5 Linie Bn Soest)

After five months of basic training in Arlon, I was posted to 5 Linie Bn in Soest (Germany). Most of the training was about self-discipline, leading by example and never giving up. The toughest part was the cold winter weather and severe sleep deprivation. Little did I know this was the perfect preparation for parenthood.

September 1991 - October 1992

Education

Free University of Brussels

Master in Experimental Psychology ("Licentiaat")

  • Experimental and Industrial Psychology
  • Neuro-anatomy and neuro-physiology
  • Statistics (including SPSS) and Fortran 77
  • Masters thesis on adjunctive drinking behaviour in rats

October 1985 - July 1991

Koninklijk Atheneum Bensberg

Wetenschappen 1+2

All the sciences, 6 hours of math. Extra physics as an elective subject. A few years of Latin.

September 1978 - July 1985

Skills

Programming Languages & Tools
  • Linux (no more MS after Vista). I use MS Windows in the work environment, of course.
  • Java (advanced)
  • HTML, CSS and JavaScript (basic)
  • SQL (using MySQL with Java/Hibernate)
  • Git and GitHub
  • IntelliJ (with Java), VS Code (with HTML, CSS and JavaScript)


Real-life skills
  • Excellent English and Dutch.
  • Good French and German.
  • Trained and experienced terminologist.
  • I can build a mean gaming PC.

My interests and IT biography

Phew, where do I start? I have always had varied interests and hobbies. I started diving when I was a teenager and have a CMAS 3* licence, I also did a PADI DiveMaster Course in 2011. I was a karetaka in my teens, but migrated to Aikido after university and finally achieved shodan (black belt) in 2004.

When I was 14, I managed to convince my parents to get me a home computer (this was 1979, remember?). Instead of chasing girls I spent the next few years trying to get my ZX Spectrum 48K to do something useful. I made a few attempts to develop text adventures. After a while I worked out that you can simulate the z-axis by decomposing it into the x and y coordinates. That led to a lot of very slowly rotating/translating spheres.
I tried to program a basic shooter game, but it was incredibly slow. I realised that by changing to first-person perspective the only thing needing to be re-drawn was the target. This was marginally faster. In hindsight I estimate it about 2 frames per second.
A few years later I managed to buy a Sinclair QL with a green-phosphor CDU (probably the last person in the country). Sinclair SuperBasic was a huge improvement on Spectrum Basic, allowing procedures and functions. No more spaghetti code! But by now I was working on my thesis, followed by graduation, military service and adult concerns. Programming fell by the wayside for the next 20 years. Until last year!

Hard SF is my personal drug, getting hooked on the weekly "Heften" as a young kid while living in Germany. German SF probably warped my young mind (Perry Rhodan, I'm looking at you!). Now I prefer the more speculative and philosphical stuff, a perfect example being Peter Watt's "Blindsight". I also enjoy reading about history. No surprise, perhaps, but it seems like we repeat the same mistakes over and over. Something to do with attribution theory and other cognitive biasses I presume.

A gang of telescopes live in my garage, but the problem is that I have more telescopes than there are cloudless winter nights in an average Brussels' year. But I still fondle them occasionally. I haven't checked, but I think this is cheaper than most forms of therapy. Also, my wife's handbags were more expensive. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.