Advice for New Grads


Hi reader,

This Q&A-style blog post stems from a conversation I had with a new grad at American Express earlier this month. Hopefully it will shed some light on how best to approach a new job and community in technology.

## What advice would you give to a new engineer?

My advice would be to find a mentor, a community and take time to learn about every area in tech. At the start of your journey as an engineer you’ll fall into a role that you’ll work in, and it’s important to stay curious and realise that there are many areas you could go into over the course of your career. You can do this at internal events in your workplace, like attending workshops and talks outside of your scope of expertise, but you can also attend external network events online.

## How can I improve my programming skills?

Your skills will grow in time as you take on more responsibilities at work. A great way to learn is by pair programming with more senior engineers. You can see how they approach problems, debug and release features - this as helped me a lot in the past as I learned new programming languages and processes. In addition, I would take advantage of any subscriptions to learning platforms you may get through work.

Another great place to learn is Free Code Camp’s learning journeys and places like HackerRank and Leetcode for quicker challenges.

## I am interested in public speaking, where can I find new speaker opportunities?

A great way to become a speaker is to join a local or online tech interest network such as the BCS, Ladies of Code or a community that specialises in a technology that interests you. These groups have regular meetings in which members come forward to do quick talks about topics of interest, both technical and non technical. Ladies of Code in particular are a great place to start.

I also recommend applying for calls for speakers at conferences that interest you. <https://www.globaldiversitycfpday.com/> Global Diversity CFP (call for paper) day is also great!

Finally, most workplaces have informal speaking or presentation opportunities that you can take part of.

## I wanted to give back to the tech community through teaching, which organisations can join?

My favourite place to volunteer is with Code First Girls, who I’ve been with for over five years. I teach women how to code through 4 and 8 week web development or Python courses. You can sign up to be an instructor on their website and join a local course, or set one up at your workplace with the help of other engineers. GirlCode is another group that you can be an ambassador for if you’re interested in creating digital content to get more women into the industry.

There are also likely opportunities to teach in schools near you, in person on online. This is a great way to give back to your community.

## Technology is a male-dominated industry, where can I meet other women?

This sounds like quite bold advice, but just try to not let it get to you that much. From my experience, I’ve benefited from joining women in tech networks to be able to interact with a huge number of women in the industry and that’s been very uplifting in times I’ve needed guidance in a situation. There are lots of male and female allies and mentors in tech ready to lend a helping hand, you just have to know where to find them!
