“You won’t achieve anything when you leave school”

This is the hardest blog I have ever wrote! But now I see the point in doing it… not for me but those like me.

Recently I went to the AWS Ambassador EMEA meet up in Finland where we had some great sessions. AWS did some talks about DE&I and efforts they are doing to support under representative groups. One thing they did to illustrate how we are all different is that they got us do a privilege walk. This where you answer a set of questions on your background, you take a step forward if true and back if false. So after 20 questions there was two clear groups, the privileged group and under represented group. I obviously fit a stereotype; white, British male, now 40! And in IT, so I suspected I would end up in the most represented group, however I was somewhere in the middle between the two groups. So why! Well actually we all have a backstory thats not visible and here is mine.

Early Years:

As a boy I had some issues holding me back at school. Initially mostly physical ones, not obvious, but still:

• I can only really see out of one eye. My right eye is damaged leaving my vision blurred and impaired from an eye infection when I was a toddler. As a child every other year I would have a recurrence of my eye issues ( I still have it every 5-10 years now). Needing medical attention and hospital trips.
• My hearing in my right ear is impaired. I can hear but with only limited frequencies and I had countless hospital appointments for hearing tests when I was little. I still suffer today in busy rooms with lots of talking or loud music to hear someone just a foot away talking to me. Think of me at those reinvent parties, I am mostly lip reading you.
• Also as a child I had a speech problem, thankfully, now corrected following years of speech therapy again around my school work (I was made to recite tongue twisters for hours). Sometimes I still struggle pounce the odd word.

These physical problems translated into some learning difficulties:

• I have dyslexia or something very similar. I had an official test once and they said they could not work me out or what it is. I am just wired up different!
• I struggled to read when I was a kid, my reading age only increased (rapidly) in my late teens when I was reading technical books.
• I struggle to write in two ways, one my spelling is awful as I struggle with knowing what rules to apply. Secondly I cannot get my ideas out of my brain quick enough as my mind is racing ahead of me. These days I have formed techniques to combat this that I will tell you later.

Linked to this, I have few more Phil-isums:

• I am a massive over thinker, this means I constantly see all outcomes in front of me, good and bad. Massive asset to have in my day job. However when life events happen like COVID then I think the worse and this does not help my second thing.
• I have anxiety for me and those close to me. An example is once I had worked out every outcome of COVID, I then spent the first weekend of lockdown making sure I sorted all the paperwork and filed away so that it was clearly labelled in case the worse happen to me!

Education

My family have all had a standard education. We all went to local schools in reasonably good and nice areas. However no one in my family had a degree or anything like that. My dad was a shop keeper and my mum a hair dresser. Both had done night courses but nothing further. Both where incredibly hardworking people during their careers.

My education was difficult. Obviously my constant hospital appointments and my problems meant at primary school I really struggled with the basics and being in main class enough. By High school I still needed lots support from “Special Needs” in Mathematics and English. However I did better a practical things like Design & Technology.?

It was here at this time the die was cast. Firstly one of my teachers due to my problems said “You won’t achieve anything when you leave school” when I was only 12! Who is anyone to say that to anyone, let alone a teacher. This ignited one of two sparks in me, my sole mission is to prove that person wrong! I?can and will achieve whatever I want to. No limits!

The second spark also happen at this stage! I found electronics and computers. I managed to workout how to get into my schools network age 13 and open up 'chat' across the network. Now I was popular! Lol. At the same time I learned BBC basic and could fix most PC issues. So another, thankfully nicer, teacher came up to me and said don’t miss use the network as your be expelled but if I helped him fix stuff then I could continue to program during my lunch. This resulted in me leaving school with only B and Cs in IT, business and science! Poor marks in Mathematics (D) and English (E)

Hmmm, that’s was not enough for being a computer programmer on one the big post graduate programmes at the time that got you in to IT! You need to A level in maths and then a good University for them opportunities! All my mates where going to do that, they got to go to the best 6 form and best university. I couldn’t do it or afford it so I had to find a different path.

So I took a GHVQ in IT at the local college, more focused on general IT and not maths right! I loved it and achieved a distinction. I also found my wife on this course. Anyway I then I did a HND, same kind thing but university level and again I took it locally as my parents could help out on the course fees and living at home was cheap. Then at the end of that course, for one more year I could convert that HND into a degree. So I was the first in my family to get a degree, 2.1 hons in computer science. The second Basford to get a degree was my sister only a few years later.?

First Career Step

So those post graduates programmes had limited spaces and targeted the top universities. Strangely I do remember completing the puzzle on the "Government" stand extremely fast. However I realised that a post graduates programme would prolong me getting really into building stuff! So I looked for another path again. I decided to find a small firm and initially I interviewed for a PHP developer in London. However as fate would have it my mum found a strange job in the paper for a “Java Administrator”, So I joined them, I had to setup a network, run some servers with Red Hat + Tomcat on it and code Java. I left that company after 10 years following an acquisition and earn out, having traveled the world, I had become a Chief Architect. Plus a whole loads experience, maybe more than those post graduate programmes would have ever given me.

More steps

Since then I have been involved in a few start up or scale ups. Each time doing more, having an impact and achieving new highs.? I have turned my weaknesses into actually my strengths:

• I speak publicly a lot, that’s scary and anxiety sets in. A little imposter syndrome around thinking the audience will find me out. In my early days of public speaking I was physically sick before going out. However I love the buzz and connecting to an audience. These days I can channel all that into energy and empathy. I love people saying how good my talks are.?
• I write a lot, mostly blogs and they are very detailed, between 1800 and 2000 words. What you don’t know it takes a lot time to structure it and make it publishable. Firstly I list out all the things I wish to cover and any notes. Getting the story constructed and then putting in the detail. Second the proof reading is endless at times, I must do this hundreds of times. Lately I’ve use text-2-speech this means I can hear what I have actually wrote not what I think I have. So I will pass over a blog or document with this a few times too. Lastly I get another person to read it. Taking my time, however short emails and messaging is very problematic especially if I am stressed or having to rush.
• I read an incredible amount and love reading mostly non-fiction. An example is the thing I do when trying to take an AWS cert is download all the user guides and white papers to my Kindle Fire paperweight. Reading them on the kindle seems to make it sink in but reading of a laptop does not. Oddly this manifests itself in the AWS Professional exams as they are so wordy, I have to take my time to read them, so I am always close to the 3hr mark.

Summing up

I am incredibly aware that I am privileged living in a developed country. I have a strong network of supportive people behind me. I am lucky enough to been involved in a number of great startups and been a member some fantastic teams. For me, my interest in technology never stops and thirst for knowledge is relentless. However this all runs deep, I can never accept my achievements and I am always very self critical. Odd as that maybe, I even struggled when I walked into the Inawisdom offices to a standing ovation last October, having completed all AWS certificates and being a top contributor on the AWS ambassador programme.?

I am always looking forward towards the next goal. So I have a saying I tell my team “take every opportunity that comes your way and give as many opportunities to others”. Thats why my greatest achievements are when I have given an opportunity to someone, help mentor them and then seeing them acheve things or moving on to try new challenges.

So my message to you, is create those opportunity for people, be inclusive and diverse. Never assume anything about anyone, we all are different and unique.