Posted on 28th March 2025

Work update

Sharing some news about my career

The best part of a decade ago I left the Cambridge tech scene and took a role with a small software company based in Suffolk. It has been an experience that is the closest to genuinely having a 'work family' I've ever had. Maintaining a close relationship with the two co-owners we formed a trio that was the core of the company for over seven years.

Navigating a pandemic, a shift from being office-based to hybrid and eventually remote working full-time, keeping the wheels turning delivering projects and winning new clients was not always easy, but it was a unique and valuable experience.

We built and maintained a websites, software and apps for a range of people and organisations. From very small-scale projects up to a few systems with hundreds of users, we worked a lot directly with customers. Despite being an employee, rather than co-owner, I was in all the important meetings, helping make decisions as well as at the 'coal-face' writing code, updating live systems and debugging problems.

It has been an experience I'm very appreciative of that has taught me a lot. Wearing a lot of hats is great for building experience but it does also highlight the value of being part of a wider team. Working in such a small team, the truth is the opportunities for growth become increasingly limited over time.

After a lot of thinking about my role I came to the conclusion I had to move on for the sake of my career and keeping my knowledge and skills relevant. So my time at current employer is coming to an end, as I've now found a new role elsewhere.

I looked at a range of opportunities and career pathways including going back to a more 'techy' tech company but ultimately I've found a role in the public sector I am very optimistic about.

It's with mixed feelings I will move on, as having a healthy and positive working relationship in such a small team for so long is not something I take for granted. I'm grateful for the respect shown to me during my tenure, we had some good times and I genuinely feel I'm leaving on good terms.

As for the future, I'm looking forward to working in a wider team in part of a larger organisation. It's another software engineering role, with some system design and analysis aspects. There was a pragmatic emphasis on code quality during the interview process I was impressed with and the organisation seems committed to investing in software development. I'm confident this role will help me improve the quality of my own work and offer opportunities for learning and growth.

It has been a long journey figuring out what role was right for me next. I wanted to find somewhere I feel I will fit in and be doing something that I feel is worth taking that next step for. I may post a little more about the new role in time, but I need some time get started and to figure out how much I can, and want to, share.

It's hard to put into words how I feel about this period of change for me. It will be a relief to hand over and let a few things go from my soon-to-be old job, emotional to say goodbye and exciting, albeit a little nerve-racking, to move on to somewhere new... Overall I'm in a good place and while that might be due to hard work and careful decision making on my part, I also count myself fortunate that things have fallen into place the way they have.