Category: careers
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Reaching for the Stars: My Week at the European Space Agency
I imagine that taking off in an aeroplane is nowhere near as exhilarating as blasting off into space on top of a rocket. But if any flight were to come close, it would be the one taking me to the European Space Agency to fulfill a lifelong dream. This was me on the 5th May…
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How to Prepare for a PhD Interview: A Practical Guide
So, you’ve got a PhD interview coming up—congrats! You’ve been invited to present in front of a team of professors, lecturers, and researchers. The interview isn’t just about proving your intelligence (your CV already does that); it’s about demonstrating enthusiasm, motivation, and whether you’d be a good fit for the team. What’re some of the…
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Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway: Starting My PhD
Sometimes in life you have to take a chance on yourself, and earlier this month I did just that. I left my job and my five year career as a software engineer to chase my dream: starting a PhD in the space sector. If childhood Beth could see me now, she would say, ‘Well of…
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Slow Down to Speed Up: Why people working in tech need to press pause
The world of tech is incredibly fast-paced. Technology is constantly evolving; new companies are being continuously started and stopped; there are always new challenges to be tackled. It’s so easy to get swept up in the rush: to try to stay ahead of the curve, meet that deadline, solve the next problem. And whilst this…
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The importance of fun in STEM careers
A few months ago, I saw a post from Eneni Abban about the importance of having fun when working in STEM (Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering) fields, and I thought to myself ‘she is spot on!’. When many people think of STEM careers, I would bet that most people do not associate them with the…
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Highlights from SIGiST23
The British Computing Society’s Special Interest Group in Software Testing (SIGiST) is the largest not-for-profit testing community in the UK. Every year, SIGiST hosts an annual conference that brings together industry leaders and experts on all topics related to testing and quality. I spoke virtually at the 2022 conference, and this year not only did…
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The Third Career Path for Women in Tech
There comes a point for everyone working in the tech industry where they need to decide on their future career path. Traditionally two, options are presented. You can either take the technical path or the managerial path. Yet, Women are under-represented in mid-to-senior-level technical roles. In the USA, 26.7% of the tech workforce are women…
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What Skills do Testers Need to Succeed?
Recent research shows that even in 2023, 95% of employers looking for tech talent have encountered a skills shortage over the past year. But what skills are they actually looking for? Roles in technology are incredibly varied, stemming from software development through to architecture, project management and of course software testing. Each of these career…
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3 Top Tips for Starting a New Role
To celebrate Careers Week and International Women’s Day, as well as being one month into my new job, I wanted to write a quick post to help others who may be starting a new role. Whether you’re moving internally, or getting a brand new job, moving on to a different role can be a daunting…
She Codes the Cosmos 