Amber Shand: my path to becoming a software engineer

Amber Shand is a software engineer at Skyscanner and the creator of the community group She Bytes Back. A champion for diversity, inclusion and empowering women to pursue a rewarding career in technology, Amber has overcome her own challenges to push the boundaries of what’s possible for young women in today’s industry.

How did you get into tech?

If you told me 10 years ago that I'd be pursuing a career in software development, I wouldn’t have believed you. I was convinced that I wanted to be a financial advisor. I studied economics and accounting, and even began an internship in Madrid. I was reading a lot about the things that could be achieved with AI, and the ever-present nature of technology. Suddenly I realised what it was that I really wanted to do, but didn’t know how I could just switch careers. Fortunately, at this point I visited a friend at the University of Virginia who introduced me to a whole load of software engineers who had landed very interesting jobs with the top tech companies.

I knew that I needed to make this happen for me, so I signed up for Code First Girls’ free coding courses as soon as I returned to London. The first course was all about web development, and was absolutely amazing. I was building something from scratch and learning from other women in the industry. It’s actually how I also found Coding Black Females. It was so inspirational to see other women like me succeeding in this space, so I studied for longer, I started building a network, I sought out mentors and essentially that's how I ended up landing my first role as a software engineer.

You’ve spoken about imposter syndrome. What are your own experiences?

Imposter syndrome is something that can affect anyone, and I definitely experienced it. In fact, about 70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. I think sometimes the feeling of being an imposter came from doing a task and moving on to the next thing without actually taking time to internalise those successes and recognise that it was actually due to my hard work that I unlocked an opportunity or won on award, or had reached a level where I was able to teach coding to others.

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To battle against the feeling of being an imposter I started to become a perfectionist — fearing rejection or the negative views of others, I pushed myself too hard. Often failure is part of the learning journey, and leaning on people and communities is fine.

It took me a while to realise that it’s totally okay to pivot; to change career and to effectively begin again. It's so easy to compare ourselves to others and to end up feeling bad about our accomplishments, but it’s important to run your own race and to focus on your strengths.

What can companies do to create more inclusive work environments?

There is a lot of emphasis on diversity, but inclusion is what really makes the difference. But how do you retain diverse candidates? Getting organisational culture right is critical. People long for a sense of community and connection, whether that’s through groups, work socials, anything that helps teams to really get to know one another. I also think that ‘psychological safety’ is important.

We're doing a difficult job and there are often huge learning curves when it comes to new technologies or methods of working. Having that psychological safety; to be able to voice your opinions, to give or be given feedback, and to be able to ask questions without fear of repercussions is essential. So, open, honest communication and the creation of a truly inclusive and welcoming environment is, I believe, fundamental to success in today’s tech industry.

What inspired you to start the online community, She Bytes Back?

She Bytes Back began life as a newsletter titled Imposter Methods. I was doing lots of research into the ways that imposter syndrome manifests itself, and sharing resources to help others. I have been very open in terms of the insecurities I've faced, and it was refreshing to hear from women who had the same fears and doubts. For example, a common theme was about our careers, relating to diversity — ‘What if I’m the diversity hire?’.

Obviously, some self-doubt can be healthy, but when it comes to self-sabotaging isolation, anxiety and levels of stress that make it impossible to perform, that is not a good thing. I think the newsletter went some way to bring people together to overcome these anxieties. Since its humble beginnings, She Bytes Back has evolved to become an energising and collaborative community, and we host in-person events in London that focus on closing the confidence gap for women in technology. It offers support, advice and inspiration so members can build connections, break down barriers and create opportunities.

What is your advice to others who might want to follow you into a tech career?

Firstly, the BCS tech careers quiz is a great place to start. It brings real clarity to the careers that someone might be suited to based on their skills and interests. I wish I had access to this quiz when I was starting out. I remember seeing careers adverts for roles in software engineering, product management, data analysis, product design, and it was quite overwhelming to try and work out which one I wanted to pursue.

Secondly, I recommend reaching out to people who work in a career that interests you, to gain an understanding of their main challenges, the projects they are working on, and what the typical working environment is like. But try not to replicate someone else's journey, because everyone’s path is different. I didn’t study computer science, and while I’ve taken part in coding bootcamps I’m essentially a community-taught engineer because I had the help of so many people and I could not have done this alone.

So, finding your own path to success is important, but certainly take inspiration from others along the way. My third piece of advice is to be patient with yourself. I remember wanting to learn JavaScript in two weeks because I’d read about people who had done this. The reality is that it takes as long as it takes. Appreciate the learning journey, pace yourself and immerse yourself fully in the task at hand to make sure you really understand what you are trying to learn.