Staying true to his passion for tech has allowed Russell to flourish. We look forward to seeing where his career goes next:
I’ve always felt a connection to mathematics and computing. However, navigating life with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder has been challenging. I felt that my academic and career backgrounds had been marked by underachievement that eclipsed my potential. As recently as January 2024, I was working as a caseworker in our Family & Human Rights Unit. Whilst I felt privileged to be working in such an important job and being part of the Home Office, I craved a more technical role, more in line with my interests. I knew that something had to be done to change this, and I began reading and studying. I enrolled in online courses and returned to my hobby of programming.
In early 2023 I discovered the ‘Each One, Reach One’ mentoring programme, which pairs entry level to mid-management staff with a senior mentor. That experience had a profound effect in boosting my confidence. My mentor also arranged for one of her technical colleagues to offer me a mock interview in software development. This was very helpful, and I would encourage everyone, particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, to seek out any mentoring opportunities they can access.
I continued to develop my technical skills by reading books and using other sources, waiting for the right opportunity to come along. Following this, I found the DDaT Digital (Career) Development Programme Associate Developer position. The programme has been extremely enjoyable, and I have had excellent support from the senior developer on my team, who has mentored me and talked me through the product source code, debugging practices and helped me to learn a vast number of new skills in DevOps, database administration, user support, and agile practices and methodology.
Whilst on the programme, I received free memberships to online learning platforms. I was also given the opportunity to attend conferences run by inspirational tech companies, and I was funded for an exam voucher. As a result of these resources, and the dedicated one-day per week for self-directed learning, I was able to obtain my Cloud Practitioner certification. I highly recommend the DDP programme to those looking for a career change. Finding the first job in software development can be extremely challenging, and this programme allowed me to leverage my strengths and hobbies, and complement them with the massive amount of practical and professional experience that I have gained.
After only eight months in the programme, I had gained enough skills to apply for a permanent position, and I was recently successful in applying for the Associate Developer role in the same team. I was commended for my performance in my interview. I can honestly say I enjoy my job and feel energised by solving the technical challenges.
I would like to leave you with a quote from the famous theologian, Howard Thurman
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
