Lydia Pike

Current Employer/Organisation Name

COHO

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

After Exeter, I went straight into a graduate program for software development at BT. I worked there in a cyber security context for 2 years, and this really gave me such a great crash course into the industry. I learnt so much from some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. After that, I took a year out to travel Asia and Australia. I came back home to get back into the technology industry, only to end up getting a fully remote software role at COHO, at which point I turned straight back around and went back to Australia! Both at BT and COHO I have been doing full stack software development, but the juxtaposition between working for one of the largest companies in Britain and a small start up has really helped me understand the industry and have really contrasting experiences.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

I kind of fell into this really. I hadn’t done any computer science at all until I started the Computer Science module in my first year of my Natural Sciences degree. We started learning Python and it just really clicked for me. My mum was a coder too and I never expected to end up doing similar things to her, but maybe it’s in the genes!

Natural Sciences gave me so many options of what I could do and I wasn’t sure what to go for, so I just applied for anything that sounded interesting to me. I ended up accepting a summer internship in software development at BT but when COVID hit, we were unable to go ahead so I had to wait until after the pandemic to join as a graduate.

I am so glad that things worked out the way they did because I really love my job. I get so absorbed in the problem solving side of it. My brain has always been wired for puzzles, and it feels like that is what I do for a living.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

I was in the Windriders society, which meant that I spent not a lot of time windsurfing and wakeboarding, and much more time at socials in ridiculous costumes.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

I have always loved exploration, and this program felt like freedom. I could choose what I was interested in, go down rabbithole sand end up somewhere I never expected to be. I started with a strong background in Maths, Physics and Chemistry, but my highlights ended up being the environmental sciences. I only took one module of it, but somehow that Ecology class really stuck with me. And to top it off, I ended up loving Computer Science so much that I made it my career.

What did you most enjoy about studying here?

My course was so fantastic, and Exeter is such a wonderful place. The best thing was living a 15 minute walk from all of my friends. I didn’t appreciate it enough at the time!

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

I was looking round lots of different universities, trying to find a course that felt right for me. I kept trying to find ones that incorporated multiple areas of study: medical science, physical biochemistry. I just couldn’t find the right one. Then my mum booked me into a talk at the Exeter open day for Natural Sciences. She realised halfway through that she had actually booked the wrong talk, and she was really disappointed with herself until I turned to her afterwards and said, “that’s the one!”

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

The ability to context switch has given me so much confidence in my workplaces. The fact that I can be the support team for anyone in almost any niche, because I have such a wide knowledge base, is so useful. Being able to translate technical jargon into accessible language for any audience gives you an edge.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

Find something you keeps you curious. Having that spark of creativity and curiosity is what keeps you going, and is what other people see. Oftentimes, the best person for the role is not the most technically brilliant or intellectually robust, but the person who actually wants to be there and is constantly learning.

What are your plans for the future?

I am loving where I’m at right now, so who knows what my next steps will be!