Discovering the passion for technology
After leaving school, Amelia tried her hand at a variety of professions. First, as an outdoor activity instructor in Spain, next as a chef in Austria and even as a chocolatier for Cadbury’s in the somewhat less exotic location of Birmingham. Whilst these roles were great fun and travelling satisfied her wanderlust, Amelia often felt that something was missing.
As someone with a firm sense of independence, she knew she needed to pursue a career that provided continual variety and discovery. Eager for a challenge, she completed a foundation year in Maths and Computing at the University of Liverpool.
“We made a ‘hangman’ game in an old programming language that I doubt many people use anymore. It was a simple game, but I remember being overly excited by it,” she says.
After her foundation year, she worked in logistics. But it was the tech community that continually intrigued her, so she started attending tech talks and coding group meetups.
“Aside from having fun and learning lots, these groups opened my eyes to how all-encompassing the term ‘software engineer’ is. And the tech scene in Manchester is certainly not shrinking either.”