Norwegain University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
IT support analyst:Aker Solutions
My name is Thomas-Andre Hetlesaether, and I'm a developer from Norway. I've been interested in computers all my
life, especially how they work and how we create the software and architecture that powers modern systems.
Throughout my studies, I've explored many areas of computer science, including networking, full-stack
development, circuit design, and electronics repair.
I have a particular interest in backend development, with an emphasis on automation, secure and efficient
solutions through
modular design. When solving problems, I take a holistic approach, aiming to understand both the system as a
whole and its surrounding components.
I'm a hands-on learner who prefers building real tools over theoretical exercises. Whether it's automating my
workflow, designing secure backends, or repairing hardware, I like understanding systems from the ground up. I
believe good software is simple, focused, and built with purpose.
My goal with this website is to showcase my experience and projects, as well as to host subdomains relevant to
those projects.
Everything hosted here, including the website itself is available on my
GitHub for public viewing.
I will continuously update this website throughout my computer science degree at NTNU to reflect what I've
learned both at school and through personal projects.
Growing up, I spent a lot of time on my computer and was always fascinated by how this hunk of metal could
transfer, display, and transmit information in abstract ways I didn't fully understand at the time.
This curiosity is what initially drew me to computer science. I learned my first programming language at the age
of 12, like many others, I started by writing simple Python scripts that expanded on my existing hobbies.
Among other things, I built tools that colorized sheet music for easier reading, command-line accounting apps to
track what little money I made at the time, and programs that could play Pokemon for me through an emulator.
It bothered me that I still didn't know what was going on under the hood, so at some point I decided to dive
deeper. I started exploring CPU design and circuits, and began designing digital components like memory modules,
ALUs, and simple incrementers/decrementers.
I also looked into how binary translates to assembly, and how that assembly maps to higher-level languages,
particularly how different full languages handle memory and type safety, exploring the trade-offs between manual
control, compile-time guarantees, and runtime flexibility.
I'd like to credit the YouTube channel Ben
Eater as a fantastic resource for learning low-level computer concepts.
In 2021, I began my formal education in computer science and, over the next three years, earned a vocational
degree in IT infrastructure, including a two-year internship at the Norwegian Directorate of Oil, which I
completed with the highest grade.
Since then, I've worked remotely providing first-line help desk support for Aker Solutions while continuing my
education.
I'm currently a student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, pursuing a bachelor's degree in
Computer Science.
As for tooling, I'm still searching for the stack that feels just right for me, and I enjoy trying out new
methods for development.
So far, I've built projects with several thousand lines of code in Java, Go, Python, HTML/CSS/TypeScript, and
Node, implementing SQL databases, REST APIs, and payment tunnels.
I definitely prefer working on the backend, but I'm comfortable with frontend concepts and have built many GUIs
for my own purposes.
All of my projects are self-hosted using tools like Docker, Nginx, Cloudflare, hypervisors, internal VPNs, and
firewalls.
Check out one of my projects
(in development)
or one of my articles
(in development)