Alumni
Jennifer Smith
Software Consultant / Meddler
I started programming computers when I was 8 on the Spectrum 128k my parents bought me for Christmas. I stopped writing code when this machine was superseded by a Mega Drive that, while technically superior in many ways, didn't have any programming environment to speak of.
I picked up the habit accidentally again at 19 as part of my university course. I took to it like a duck to a compiler and realised that I was happiest when I was reading code, understanding how the parts fit together and writing my own versions of things.
Working as a software developer, and for a large amount of that at Thoughtworks, I have gone from audio programming to application development to web development to infrastructure and data engineering (with some valuable deviations into coaching and support and even public speaking). Though the environments and circumstances change, the core principles remain the same: understanding how systems fit together and how to change them and grow them.
I picked up the habit accidentally again at 19 as part of my university course. I took to it like a duck to a compiler and realised that I was happiest when I was reading code, understanding how the parts fit together and writing my own versions of things.
Working as a software developer, and for a large amount of that at Thoughtworks, I have gone from audio programming to application development to web development to infrastructure and data engineering (with some valuable deviations into coaching and support and even public speaking). Though the environments and circumstances change, the core principles remain the same: understanding how systems fit together and how to change them and grow them.