My Career Journey

Hello, my name is Tim and I am non-binary. My pronouns are They/Them and I am gay. I joined UKTV’s Tech and Ops team at the end of February and want to say a big virtual hello to the entire team. This is the second job I’ve started during a lockdown period after finishing a contract with School of Code, an educational software bootcamp. I’d like to share a bit more about my unique journey from studying rock formations to a career in the virtual cloud.

It’s safe to say I’ve come into the tech industry in an unorthodox way. I know there have been sessions around the idea of 'squiggly' careers of late, so I’ll set the scene with my own squiggle (is that the right word? Who knows, I’m using it though).

I did my university degree in Geoscience, specialising in Geophysics and Volcanology, with a master's degree focused down on modelling convection within the upper mantle and how that impacts volcanism in places you wouldn’t normally expect a volcano. From there I attempted a PhD but after falling down a bit of a pit I decided to move on and bounced around a few temp admin jobs at the university, before landing my first tech role with Ikon Science. They tested me for logical capacity on the basis that it was easier to teach me, a geologist, to code than it was to do it the other way around. I was able to use my scientific knowledge to directly help the development teams and had some fun working with the on-staff doctors to implement their theories in the software.

I used that opportunity to make the move fully into tech and away from my degree subject. I ended up working in Birmingham and specialised in AWS (Amazon Web Services) and the flights Industry. I still have a ridiculous amount of air transport codes in my head, but I hope they’ll go away soon and I can use that space for something more interesting.

In June last year, with everything related to furlough and the pandemic I decided to move in a different direction to really stretch myself. I joined the School of Code, helping the CEO develop his junior development staff as well as running a bootcamp for apprentices. I’ve learnt a lot about coaching in that time and now I hope to bring some of that knowledge and energy to UKTV alongside my tech skills.

I hope my career story inspires you to try something new, and know that wherever your path takes you, you can still end up somewhere great and respected in your field (I type hoping the team agrees).

Tim with Poppy, their cat they adopted in 2020