Hello, World!

(why I'm starting this newsletter)

Every summer for the last couple of years, I make a trip to Vancouver for a weekend to teach a workshop to computer science students at the University of British Columbia.

The workshop is part of an alumni-led course that covers the practical stuff you need to succeed in industry - things like how to actually build a web app that works in production or how to translate your degree into a job.

How To Get Into Tech and Make a Career Out Of It

The last year, and this one too, my topic is How To Get Into Tech and Make a Career Out Of It.

Having had to figure it out the hard way myself - I was late to the tech game - I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned with a broader audience, so here goes nothing.

This newsletter is going to be the guide and advice I wish I had when I was first starting out.

The Story So Far (or Who Am I Anyway?)

Even if it’s still a work in progress, I’d like to think I’ve done a decent job at this tech career thing.

Here are some of the highlights of my journey so far

• Graduated from law school at Cambridge

• Spent a year in a brutal job market to get my first role in tech regulation

• Didn’t even make it to a year and quit to go all in on becoming a software engineer

• Spent my life savings on a coding bootcamp in London

• Moved to Canada to get a computer science degree at UBC

• Applied for (and been rejected from) more jobs than I can remember

• Got my dream job at Facebook

• Did the crazy career thing and climbed the ladder fast

• Built some cool stuff

• Got burnt out

• Recovered

• YOLO-ed and left to live the startup life

It’s been a crazy ride so far.

Subscribe and I’ll share what I’ve learned on how to approach this tech career thing. At the very least, I’ve got plenty of stories.

P.S. Tell your friends!