Following on from [my previous post about the Brave web browser](/post/brave-brilliant-browser-and-the-future-of-online-advertising "Brave: Brilliant Browser and the Future of Online Ads"), I've now become a Brave Verified Creator!

## What Does This Mean?

If you use the [Brave](https://brave.com/ "Brave browser homepage") browser and are opted-in to Brave Rewards and Auto-Contributions it means I'll get a small portion of the [Basic Attention Tokens (BAT)](https://basicattentiontoken.org/ "Basic Attention Tokens homepage") you receive for viewing ads.

As I talked about in my previous post, it's a brilliant mechanism to allow creators like me to monetize their content really easily without forcing visitors to see horrible, intrusive on-page advertisements. If you're interested in supporting small content creators like me without it costing you a penny, you should definitely give Brave a try!

## What Am I Going to Do with All My New Found Riches?

The reality is that I don't stand to earn very much, if anything at all with the small number of visitors I bring to this site. But on the off chance I earn a few pennies it'll go towards covering the cost of renewing my domain purchase, so it makes keeping this website going that little bit cheaper for me.

## Content Creator? Consider Signing Up!

If you want to take advantage of Brave Rewards, you can do so completely free of charge! Here's an overview of what you need to do:

1. [Download Brave](https://brave.com/download/ "Brave browser download page")
1. Set Up Brave Rewards
    - Brave will guide you through this process
    - You can make changes via Brave's settings at any time
1. [Connect and verify your Brave Wallet](https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034841711-What-is-a-verified-wallet- "Brave support article about verified wallets") with [Uphold](https://uphold.com/ "Uphold homepage")
    - The wallet gets created alongside the Brave Rewards setup
1. [Sign up as a Brave Creator](https://creators.brave.com/ "Brave Creators homepage")
1. [Verify ownership of your content](https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021408352 "Brave support article describing the verification process")
    - If, like me, you use the "File Upload Verification" method, you can remove the file from the `.well-known/` folder once you've completed verification
    - You have to wait up to 24 hours for the verification to take effect

I would say the whole process can be done in about 15-20 mins...though that's a bit of a guess because I've not done a straight run-through before.

And that's it! You can continue to create the content you and your readers/viewers love and check back every now and then to see how much BAT you're earning by logging into your [Brave Rewards Creators](https://creators.brave.com/ "Brave Creators homepage") account.


I've signed up as a Brave Creator so I benefit from Brave's amazing new approach to monetizing content on the web. If you're a content creator, you should sign up too!

I'm now a Brave Verified Creator

It's been a little over 3 years since I joined the Engineering Team at Amigo Loans as a Front End Software Engineer, and it's been quite a journey for me.

I have been able to work on a range of websites, web applications, backend services and a native mobile app using some of the latest and greatest tools, libraries and frameworks the frontend world has to offer. I have also had the pleasure of working with some of the most brilliant, hard-working people who have all been incredibly supportive and helped me develop as a professional and as a person.

Despite the positives, and after much thought and deliberation, I believe that it's the right time for me to leave the company and move onto something new.

## So What's Next?

At the beginning of March I'll be starting my new job as Frontend Developer at [Pulselive](https://www.pulselive.com/ "Pulselive homepage")!

I'm incredibly excited to get started and work with new people to build amazing digital products for some of the biggest names in sport. I'm also excited to see how this new job will help me learn new things and grow into a better developer.

I'll also be working with a few ex-Redweb colleagues again which is a great bonus!

## Are You Happy in Your Work?

I have spent a lot of time going back and forth about whether I should stay at Amigo. It was never going to be an easy decision. There are lots of things to consider and always the question of "is the grass really greener on the other side?".

If you are/have been in a similar position of struggling to figure out a way of deciding what's right for you, I have one recommendation which I hope may prove useful to you. Ask yourself this one simple question:

<blockquote>
  <p class="mb-0">"Will I be <strong>happy</strong> if I stay?"</p>
</blockquote>

I highlight the word "happy" because I don't mean "happy enough", I mean would it actually bring you genuine, long term happiness?

If the answer to my question is "No" I would suggest that it's time to look for something new. Go out and find somewhere you think will bring you that missing joy.

I think it's only recently dawned on me just how important it is to really enjoy your job. It is such a big part of your life and it affects the other parts of your life more than you might realise.

I plan to write an article on this topic to go into more depth, so be sure to keep an eye out for that!

At the end of this month I'll be leaving my role at Amigo Loans and starting my new job as a Frontend Developer at Pulselive!

New Year, New Job!

It makes sense to kick off this blog by explaining why I want to start a blog at all!

I spend quite a lot of time reading articles that I think might be interesting and/or useful for my career; it's part of how many of us keep up to date with everything that's happening in the industry. Reading content written by other developers makes me feel proud and grateful that there are a large number of people who are open and happy to share their knowledge and experiences so freely. It has inspired me to start doing the same.

## I'm Doing This for You

You're welcome ;)

But seriously, I want to be able to give a little back to an industry which has given me so much support over my career so far.

### Offering Help & Support

I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve been saved by a blog post. I think we've all been in the position of frantically scrambling through search results praying that you'll find a fix to whatever problem you're having at the time. And then...magic! You stumble across an article on a stranger's blog that completely saves the day.

Or maybe it's just that you're trying to get your head around a piece of technology or a programming concept that confuses the heck out of you. You've read the official docs and some of the high profile blog posts and it's still not sinking in. Then, all of a sudden, you find someone who's written about it in a way that makes it all make sense!

My point is that I hope to be the one providing that kind of support and relief to someone else for a change.

### Sharing Insight and Experience

This is particularly applicable/useful if you are a developer who is early on in their career or a student working your way towards a certification in software development. I got my first job as a developer back in 2015 and I've learned a heck of a lot over those five years which I'd love to be able to share with the world. I hope that you can use some of the knowledge that I have to share to help you learn and grow in your own career.

### Creating Enjoyment and Interest

I really want you to enjoy reading my work. There would be little point in creating content if I didn't think people might enjoy reading it!

## I'm Doing This for Me Too

As much as all the above is completely true, I can’t pretend like there aren’t a few benefits for me too.

### Learning and Growth

I'm a strong believer that a great way to learn something is to try to teach it. Having the ability to teach a subject requires you to understand it well enough to be able to communicate the details effectively to a learner. This blog is my teaching platform and I intend on taking advantage of it in order to help me grow my own knowledge and experience.

### Communication

Good written and verbal communication are skills that I somewhat pride myself on. It takes consideration and practice to be an effective communicator and this platform will definitely provide me with plenty of practice!

## Final Words

I really hope this blog lives up to all of my hopes and expectations. It’s going to take some time and effort to build but I’m really excited to get creating and seeing how it all turns out!


My rationale behind wanting to create and write on my very own blog, with an outline of what I want to achieve for myself and anyone who reads my posts.

"Personal" Posts

I'm now a Brave Verified Creator

New Year, New Job!

Why do I want to start a blog?