A few words about me:
My day job is as a Lead Technologist at dxw. I also do product development in my spare time and recently started a small game studio called Big Comet, and have just published my first game called Inroads.
I'm generally a bit of a pain in the arse - diagnosed by myself and others. I have multiple allergies which is annoying and they only seem to be getting worse as I get older. I have an overwhelming desire to always be doing something which manifests in a lot of ideas for projects and hobbies that I pick up.
Are there any professional experiences you've had that are quite unexpected compared to what you do nowadays?
In school my careers advisor asked me what I wanted to be - my answer of Professional Skateboarder was taken far too seriously and led to a real lack of career support from that session.
After I left school I started an Electronic Engineering apprenticeship with the Ministry of Defence. The excitement did not last and I felt like I was missing out on the college experience my friends were having. I realised it wasn't for me after a few months.
Whilst I was freelancing as a web developer I ended up taking a Christmas job at a video games retailer. This rolled on for 2 years until one day I realised that, whilst I enjoyed about talking and playing video games all the time I was really neglecting the skills I'd developed.
Is your background more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) or non-STEM related?
I was academic in school and really good at maths and science. This dropped off as I got older and spent my time skateboarding and generally being a delinquent. In college and university I studied Multimedia Arts which was a combination of so many disciplines, including film-making, photography, web design and animation.
My university tutor called me a "Jack of all trades" in a disparaging way but I decided it would be a badge of honour.
Where did your professional journey start?
During University I started working on animations, films and websites at a small design agency. I moved to a couple of different small agencies picking up more specialist website work until I was made redundant and tried my hand freelancing.
I really started thinking about my career and taking bigger opportunities in 2013 after an unsuccessful stint of being a freelance web developer and leaving my retail job. This was a Frontend Developer role at an e-commerce agency, where I was quickly poached and then started working my way through various agencies and roles.
How did you get into tech and what motivated you?
I've always loved Video Games since I was a kid, and I would spend hours playing Golden Axe, Sonic, and Final Fantasy among others. As I got older and finally got a computer, I started trying to make my own animations and games.
Throughout my life I've enjoyed picking up bits of everything and having many interests. I like trying to blend creative ideas and technology. I basically just want to have ideas and make things.
The roles I was getting earlier on in my career were more creative and flexible, yet I was seen as the tech guy. This led to me learning more web development on the job and becoming a bit more focussed on frontend development. As I moved companies, I've learnt more and got more involved in UX, backend development, project management and running companies. I'm now back in a position where I have a lot of flexibility in the work I do, and also have the possibility of doing the things I enjoyed earlier on in my career such as making games and films in my various side projects.
Have you experienced any 'career in tech' challenges / stereotypes?
Not having a more technical background I used to sometimes feel out of my depth. When I was younger and inexperienced, I would be really concerned about it and just feel like I couldn't do it. Now, I realise a lot of what you don't understand is just jargon and can be explained simpler, and if it can't be explained simpler then it's probably too complicated.
"Don't feel like you need to fit a mould or follow the same paths as others."
What you wish you knew before getting started in tech...
That it's very hard to switch off when tech is all around you.
What has been your biggest 'wow!' moment related to working in tech so far?
I've got two ...
The first time I created something in Virtual Reality. It blew my mind and it felt like the future I'd dreamt of as a kid was right around the corner.
The other wow moment was the first time I built a responsive website. Suddenly this concept came to prominence which completely transformed what it meant to be a frontend web developer and the sorts of things we were building. It was a lot less work than building 2 or sometimes even 3 websites, but took a new set of skills and ways of thinking.
What do you like / not like about working in tech?
I like that as long as you have a computer in front of you, the possibilities for creating are endless, whether it's a game, an animation, a service, or just a weird website. There are close to zero barriers.
What I don't like is the feeling that I cannot switch off easily. Tech is everywhere and so invasive a lot of the time. If I see something not working properly, or how I think it should, it irritates me a lot.
"Tech is constantly changing and being able to critically think for yourself and understand new concepts is the greatest tool you can have."
What's been your favourite / most memorable / funniest 'career in tech' moment so far?
Being the person who built and switched on the Fyre Festival website was pretty memorable in so many ways - but definitely not funny ones.
Lots of unrealistic expectations, weird requirements and changing content and scope. Unreasonable requests and having to put the website live whilst I was on holiday for Christmas - it was not a fun time.
There was a real sense of schadenfreude when the festival went the way it did.
And to wrap up, is there any advice you'd like to give to others interested in a career in tech?
Don't feel like you need to fit a mould or follow the same paths as others. Tech is constantly changing and being able to critically think for yourself and understand new concepts is the greatest tool you can have.
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