Social media handle(s): LinkedIn
A few words about me:
Hi, I’m Georgie and I am a Delivery Lead at dxw, an employee-owned agency working for the public good. I sit within our GovPress team - dxw’s website development, hosting, and support service for public sector and charitable organisations.
My role as Delivery Lead has a broad range of responsibilities - from day-to-day facilitation of project and support work, through to sales activity, and working with the leadership team on strategic changes.
I’m an unashamed nerd, dog mum and ADHD-er, and usually you’ll find me in the kitchen experimenting with a new recipe (successfully, most of the time!) or out in all weathers with my puppy, Nell, exploring the Peak District.
Are there any professional experiences you've had that are quite unexpected compared to what you do nowadays?
I've had many different jobs on the winding road to Delivery Lead, and I'd say all of them have overlap with what I do now. Working in a cafe whilst in college helped me develop customer service skills, joining early stage tech startups allowed me to hone an agile and MVP mindset, and contracting gave me my first introduction to working with central government. I can't think of any roles I've had that have not contributed to where I am now in some way.
Is your background more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) or non-STEM related?
I'd say my background is somewhere in between - although I don't have a formal education in a STEM subject beyond A-Level, there's only so much time you can spend around engineers without picking some things up!
I love learning new things too, so although I'm no expert, I'd say I have quite a broad (but not very deep) knowledge across the STEM world.
Where did your professional journey start?
My professional journey began at the age of 19, when I left university after the first year of studying medicine. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, so decided to get a job that sounded fun and figure out the rest afterwards!
I joined a pet-tech startup, and through that role, found a great community of supportive people, that helped me then land my next roles years later. Although every role I’ve had has been different, it has helped me to narrow down which things I love, and which I don’t, leaving me now 9 years later in a role that I adore.
How did you get into tech and what motivated you?
I very much fell in to tech by accident - when I left university after my first year, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I ended up getting an internship at a pet tech startup which progressed into a full time job, and found a great, supportive community of people in tech.
Have you experienced any 'career in tech' challenges / stereotypes?
I started working full-time in tech at 19, and really struggled to be taken seriously outside of the companies I worked at because of my age. I remember going to a well-known tech meet up when I was around 21 with some of my team, and being asked if I was on work experience! Experiences like that were quite common, and although unfair and frustrating, helped me to build confidence and resilience.
"The best advice I’d give to someone wanting to work in tech is just to dive in and see what happens! There is so much overlap between roles, and so many transferrable skills you’ll gain which mean that you can try out a number of different roles to see what works best for you."
What you wish you knew before getting started in tech...
I wish I knew that you didn't have to be 'technical' to work in tech, and that there are so many different roles for non-techies.
What do you like / not like about working in tech?
It’s hard to narrow down a list of what I like about tech, but two things that stand out are: It’s always evolving - there are new things to learn, experiment with and talk about. And the people - I’ve been really fortunate that for the most part, the people that I’ve worked with and met have been supportive and kind, which has given me a great network of friends and mentors.
I don’t like that in some pockets of the STEM world, it is still a toxicly-productive boy’s club - thankfully, this seems to be less and less!
"I wish I knew that you didn't have to be 'technical' to work in tech, and that there are so many different roles for non-techies."
And to wrap up, is there any advice you'd like to give to others interested in a career in tech?
The best advice I’d give to someone wanting to work in tech is just to dive in and see what happens! There is so much overlap between roles, and so many transferrable skills you’ll gain which mean that you can try out a number of different roles to see what works best for you.