305: Why You Should Become A Software Engineer and How To Get Started with Patrick Lynott

<p>In this week’s show, Phil talks to Patrick Lynott, the Head of UK Admissions & Placement at Boolean, a tech education company that teaches their students to be software engineers and then helps them to land their first job in tech.</p> <p>Patrick talks about why people should consider a career as a software engineer and how Boolean can help. He also discusses the positive ways in which investment is changing the shape of the tech sector in the UK, the best ways for aspiring engineers to begin their careers, and the best resources that can energise your own tech career plans.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>KEY TAKEAWAYS:</strong></p> <p><strong>WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER BECOMING A SOFTWARE ENGINEER?</strong></p> <p>Software engineering and coding provides a problem-solving approach and set of challenges that many with an analytical mind find appealing. The career prospects are incredible, and potential for diversity and growth is limitless.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>WHAT DO I NEED TO LEARN?</strong></p> <p>Begin by building a mental map of the industry itself, We can best achieve this by hearing from people in the industry through YouTube, blogs, vlogs and other social media. Forming this map of the sector in your own mind will give you a far better idea of what kind of role you’d like to play in it.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO GET STARTED?</strong></p> <p>Networking in places such as LinkedIn and Eventbrite are a great way to begin getting to know people and the kinds of skills that have helped them. Resources such as Codebar can help those at the start of their tech journey, and pairs you with people already in the industry, and allow you to solve problems together.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>WHAT’S THE STATE OF THE TECH INDUSTRY IN THE UK (AND THE WORLD) RIGHT NOW?</strong></p> <p>The tech industry is a boom town right now, and has proved resilient and robust, even through the pandemic. The UK right now is the third hottest area for investment in tech, behind only the US and China. Most investment is stay