Hi Claire, thanks for sitting down with us! So first of all, after first learning to code during the pandemic, what do you do for work now and what does a typical day look like for you? 

I'm an apprentice software engineer and I mainly work from home, with a trip into the office perhaps once a month or less.  Our team follows the agile methodology, so we have a daily stand up meeting to discuss where we are with our work, and if there are any issues that are preventing us from moving forward.  After that we try to keep meetings to a minimum (apart from fortnightly scrum ceremonies) so that we can focus on the work at hand. 

Up until recently I was having to document the work I did for my apprenticeship, which usually entailed taking screenshots, and then putting time aside to write it up.  However, all the documentation writing is finished, so it is nice to just write code, and not have to think about having to document it.  

Ah yes that must be a nice relief! So in your day to day, what would you say is your favourite thing about your role? 

That feeling when you take on a new piece of work that perhaps is using a technology or process that is new to me, and getting to the point where I feel I can understand enough to do the work.  There’s always something new to learn.

You've had a fairly unconventional career path - could you tell us a little bit about it? What has been your journey so far?

Yes, it is fairly unconventional.  Basically I trained as a social worker after leaving school.  Then I took a 20 year career break to raise my four children.  

Having tried to get back into the workplace I found it near on impossible, because that workplace experience counted for everything. 

So with some encouragement from my husband, I spent lockdown taking a web development bootcamp run by the University of Birmingham, which gave me a taster of coding.  I am now coming to the end of my level 4 software engineering apprenticeship.

That's amazing and congratulations! Is there anything now looking back on the last couple of years, that you wish you'd known before jumping into your career?

I’m afraid to say that I had many pre-conceived ideas about what a career in software actually meant, or what it would enable me to do.

I wish I had known more about the whole “tech for good” scene.  It was the possibility of eventually getting involved with that which ultimately convinced me to give software engineering a try.  

And since you've given it a go, have there been any obstacles or challenges you’ve faced that you can tell us about?

Imposter syndrome has been a massive challenge.  It frustrates me that my own mind plays such tricks on me, when I have had nothing but support and encouragement from my family, fellow students and colleagues.  

I think pushing myself outside of my comfort zone has been both a challenge and the ultimate reward.  Proving to myself that I can do this is the first step to beating that imposter syndrome.

What would be your advice to others in overcoming a challenge like this?

This advice is so much easier to give than accept, but never compare yourself to others.  Your journey into tech is yours alone, if you are going to compare yourself to anyone, restrict it to the self-comparison of where you were last week/month/year.  

Love that! Where would you like your own journey to be in five years time, and how do you plan to get there?

In five years, I’d like to be feeling more confident in my abilities as a software engineer, and perhaps beginning to branch out into more specialist work.  I’m currently feeling that front-end development is my preference, but I’m reserving judgement until I have more of a diverse experience.  

I intend to get there by saying yes to things, not doubting my ability, and continuing to push the limits of that comfort zone. 

What would be your top tips to someone else looking to start a career in tech?

Be curious.  Be determined.  Create a network of like-minded people.  Reach out to other developers, they have all been where you are, and I have found nothing but support from the tech community.   

Final question… are there any great books, podcasts, or other resources that you can recommend to others?

I love the podcast “women tech charge” with Anne-Marie Imafidon, as well as Ladybug podcast.  And of course there is also the brilliant Women in Tech Birmingham Meetup group.