I am a Principal Engineer at a Digital Transformation Consultancy, where I have worked over 10 years. I started my journey in to tech by being one of those kids who wanted to know how things worked and playing lots on our family PC. This led to me studying computing in school and on to university. Since graduating from my degree in computing science I now have 13 years industry experience including: developing web applications, APIs, data integrations, cloud environments, DevOps pipelines. In my roles as a development team lead and now as principal engineer, I have lead teams on technical projects as well as help determine our tech stack and technical roadmap.
On top of my day job in tech, I am a keen member of local tech community where I attend and speak at events. I also organise some local events including Ladies Of Code Glasgow- a monthly event where we have speakers sharing knowledge on all aspects of coding and tech. For my community work and knowledge sharing at home and internationally, I have been awarded Microsoft MVP and Umbraco MVP several times. Being a Scottish voice in these spaces makes me really proud and I’d love to see even more Scottish women show their expertise in tech, which is why initiatives like Ada Scotland are so important to me.
What was your first career aspiration as a child?
I always talked about being a teacher as a child. Even as I went to uni, I fully expected to complete my Computing Science degree then go on to teacher training to be a computing teacher. But I ended up really enjoying the coding side of my degree and wanted to get industry experience… so here we are 13 years later and I still really enjoy it. I think this ambition to teach is why I do speaking at events and blogging, a way to share what I have learned with others!
What attracted you to a career in computing / tech?
I was always good with computers, we were really lucky to have a PC at home really early before it was normal because my mum was studying at college and needed one for her course work! So really my tech career is thanks to my mum’s college computing course! From having the computer so young, I just liked to play and learn what it could do. This meant I was good with computers by the time computing came along in school.
Do you have a favourite place in the world?
I really love Loch Lomond. Just a wee drive from home in Glasgow, it’s just peaceful and a lovely place to get away from the noise (and my computer!) to just relax. Sometimes for a camping trip or even just for the day, it’s my happy place.
What would you tell your teenage self?
“Have some confidence in yourself (or at least pretend!)” – I always struggled with confidence, particularly as a teenager. If you had told me back then that I’d be able to lead meetings at work or speak in front of 100 people at a conference I’d think you were lying! I have learned to find some pretend confidence even when I don’t feel it and do the scary thing anyway. I think this has really helped me progress in my career.
What makes you happy?
Dogs. There’s nothing a cuddle from a friendly dog can’t fix.