The importance of keeping the camera on (and evening video hangouts)
Paula was in the remote April 2017 cohort. Before Makers, she was a professional violinist, then trained as a software developer and got her first dev job with Kurt Geiger
Paula Muldoon is a multi-talented violinist, software engineer, and composer based in Cambridge, UK. Currently the leader of the Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra and the first violinist of the Cambridge String Quartet, she is also a backend engineer at BRYTER and a TechWomen100 and Women in Software Power List award winner. She loves encouraging others into tech — find her at www.paulamuldoon.com or on Twitter (@FiddlersCode) .
I’d toured all over the world (20 countries over four continents), working in full-time employment as a first violinist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and freelancing in London.
In December 2016, I was guest leading an orchestra in China. They offered me the job and I thought, “I can’t commute to China. Time to do something else!”
I knew about Makers from a colleague of mine at a music tech startup where I was doing part-time business development work. The combination of coding best practices, emotional intelligence, and strong careers team sealed the deal for me.
I got my first job at Kurt Geiger a week after my course at Makers finished, where I was 80% remote.
I then worked with Cambridge Cognition, writing code for cognitive assessment tests used in global clinical trials — mostly working in an office but occasionally remotely.
Now I’ve just started working remotely again at BRYTER, a no-code decision automation platform that aims to make justice available more readily. I still play lots of music, but now I get there on a bicycle instead of a train!
The benefits of training being remote…
First of all, good coffee.
Secondly, a feeling of safety and quiet.
Intentional community.
Wearing whatever you like!
Being able to cuddle your pets during the day.
Walking in the garden.
Fewer distractions and a lot more productivity.
No fluorescent lighting.
And of course, no infectious diseases! Remote work is an incredible opportunity that can make tech accessible for folk who otherwise wouldn’t feel comfortable or be at their best in an office all day.
When it came to building social connection with my cohort, we were really tight.
We started having evening video hangouts online together in the first week. We’d have dinner and come back around 8pm to share a drink and talk over the day, or our lives, or completely random stuff.
We also had lots of impromptu online video chats in throughout the day. Jumping on a video call (with camera on!) is the single most important thing you can do to build remote social connection.
I also had a meditation buddy, who was in Paris while I was in Cambridge. Every day at 8:50 we would ping each other to say we were starting to meditate and then 10 minutes later we’d exchange messages saying we’d finished.
The biggest challenge with remote is that it’s a new form of communication.
You have to be open to trying things differently. Our coaches were an incredible help with practical things like making sure everyone was muted on a video call and encouraging people to turn on their cameras.
It can be easier to hide when you’re not in the same physical space, which is why I think cameras are so important.
With your camera off, it’s too easy to get sucked into checking Facebook or the news because no one can see that your eyes or attention are elsewhere. Cameras on equals social connection!
My advice for others considering a career change into tech
Do it!
There’s a lot of great resources out there to help you get to know the industry.
Podcasts like Code Newbie or We Belong Here (you can check out my interview on episode 23!) are a couple of my favourites.
