Taking the unusual route into a career in tech
For years, the traditional entry route into the tech sector was to obtain a degree in computer science, engineering or another related field and join the profession as a graduate.
But things are undoubtedly changing now as less conventional approaches, such as apprenticeships, T-level qualifications and coding bootcamps, become more widespread. They are also increasingly popular among new entrants and employers alike.
One professional who followed a decidedly squiggly career pathway before doing a six-month bootcamp in 2020 is Lucy Ironmonger, a tech lead at fintech Zuto, who studied English with creative writing at the University of Birmingham 13 years earlier.
While there, she found a bar job and, due to her love of music, seized the opportunity to run the establishment’s music night every Tuesday. On leaving, Ironmonger moved to Manchester to pursue her music dreams, undertaking a diploma in electronic music production and commercial sound engineering at the School of Electronic Music (SEM).
After writing the school’s first blog, SEM subsequently hired her, and she rose through the ranks over the next nine years to become operations director. One of her earlier jobs was as course supervisor, where she discovered a widespread fear of tech, particularly among girls.
“Part of my job was to convince them they’d enjoy it and to nurture them while they were there,” Ironmonger says. “The course changed lives, and I found that if you nurture people in the right way, they often become passionate and great at their job.”
As a result, she now takes her role as a people manager very seriously and makes time to prepare before one-to-ones with any member of her team.
“It’s about coaching people, so you want to maximise the time and help direct them in ways they want to go,” she says. “People need guidance, and it gives me the most satisfaction in my role to see people go from x to y to z.”
The growing need for soft skills
She also believes the need for all tech professionals to develop effective ‘soft skills’ will only continue to grow.
“It’s about how you communicate, how you problem-solve as tech is always changing, and how you learn to learn effectively,” Ironmonger says. “You have to have a growth mindset – it’s one of the secrets to success.”
She can demonstrate just such an approach in spades. For example, after working at SEM for four years, Ironmonger took a year’s sabbatical to practice as a plumber and electrician at her friend’s business – skills she had learned at night school to refurbish her own newly purchased house.
Despite initially experiencing anxiety about being the only woman in the room, she quickly became comfortable.“I realised that difference doesn’t need to separate you as other things can bring you together,” she says. “We talked about music and, before I knew it, I was part of the team, one of the lads, so it’s important not to let things like that hold you back.”
But developing a website for her friend’s plumbing company “sowed a seed”. So, after her wife had a baby following the first Covid lockdown when SEM was unable to offer the flexibility working opportunities she desired, Ironmonger followed friends’ advice and started to explore careers in tech.
Secrets to success
This led to her joining the Manchester Codes software engineering bootcamp. On completion of the course, she spent a week firing off a “ridiculous” number of job applications – to no response. This was when she learned the value of networking, which included building a rapport with recruitment agents and attending in-person events.
It was through such an event that she was approached by her first tech employer, Synch.Money. From there, she moved to Zuto, where she has now been for nearly four years, despite a disastrous first interview for which she was 10 minutes late.
“The hurdle of being late could have put me off, but it was a Sliding Doors moment,” Ironmonger says. “You just have to push through when your back’s against the wall – you can’t wait for a second opportunity.”
The lesson she learned is that it is impossible to “second-guess what people will think of you” as it boils down to whether recruiters think they can work with you or not.
But, Ironmonger says, if she was going to do it all again, she would advise that people “learn how to learn” by using a system such as notetaking or the Feynman Technique.
“Also make yourself visible in what you do – for example, by creating a ‘brag doc’ and regularly updating it,” she adds. “Finally, develop your confidence by exploring with your manager how to widen opportunities that help you move out of your comfort zone.”
Learning by trial and error
Another professional who took an unconventional route into the tech sector is David Parry-Jones, chief revenue officer at AI-based language platform DeepL. After undertaking a physics degree at Bangor University, Parry-Jones qualified as a teacher of maths and combined science, which he did for a year.
After discovering that teaching was not for him, Parry-Jones then started working on oil rigs in the North Sea, where he undertook geo-physical seismic surveys to understand “where to point the drill bit”, adding: “It was a mixture of electrical engineering, computers and geology – none of which I was particularly good at, so I revisited what I wanted from my career.”
Taking advice received early on that his strengths lay in working with people, Parry-Jones’ next step was to take a sales job with a Lexus car dealership. After moving into the tech sector a year later, he has not looked back, particularly since moving into management.
But he did learn a number of lessons from “blundering my way through my early life, not knowing what I wanted to do and learning by trial and error”. The first was just how important it is to “find something you like, and something you’re good at. Then, to some extent, your career looks after itself.”
“It’s what I learned from my early jobs when I had either one or neither of those things, and it’s why I kept changing direction until I found them,” he adds.
Finding a good cultural fit
A third leg of the stool, meanwhile, is finding a company whose culture suits your personality and values, he believes. This was something he learned after working for nearly seven years at Microsoft.
“I found the culture was very aligned to those at the top and the traits of those individuals, and I didn’t share them,” Parry Jones says. “I didn’t enjoy the culture, but it’s important to find an organisation that’s at least close enough culturally for you to be yourself.”
He discovered that having to “display attributes that aren’t really me” was hard work as it involved “wearing a mask and pretending to be someone you’re not”. As a result, his next move was to VMWare in a bid to find an organisation that was “culturally closer to how I behaved myself, and where I would potentially be valued more”.
Another lesson that Parry-Jones learned along the way is that the tech industry is not a place for those who are uncomfortable with change or lack resilience – particularly as life in the sector appears to be constantly speeding up rather than slowing down.
But that is not to say that careers are equally quick to build, he says: “Some people focus on progression before they’re ready to go, but it’s important to be patient and learn how to excel in a role. Nothing replaces hard work – if you have the right attributes, you will succeed.”
By the same token, Parry-Jones also advises professionals never to be afraid of failure. “I’ve managed teams that have and have not failed collectively and, as long as they can stay together, those that fail perform significantly better after doing so,” he says. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but you can learn a lot and you certainly become more resilient.”
