Where are they now? Kim Diep
Kim is a longstanding member of codebar, joining in 2017, and originally told her story all the way back in September 2019! A lot has changed since then so we caught up with her again to find out what she is doing now.
You can find Kim on the Internet here: LinkedIn and Flourish in Tech
1. What’s changed since your original story post?
Since September 2019, I have taken a squiggly path through tech. I started off at M&G Plc as an Associate Software Engineer on the Front Office team and then I hopped over to Trainline as a C# / Backend Software Engineer for the Payments API team. Shortly after that role, I became a Tech Coach at Tech Returners. I was drawn to Tech Returners’ mission to address underrepresentation of women in tech, as well as individuals who had taken a career break due to caring responsibilities and other reasons to return back into tech through support and programmes to refresh their skills, rebuild their confidence and reignite their careers in technology. While I was there, I designed, developed and delivered a Software Engineering training curriculum for mid-level Software Engineers to upskill in Software Engineering and Backend fundamentals for Java and C#.
I was a Tech Coach for about a year and a half and I joined Butternut Box, a fresh dog food subscription in June 2022 where I have been a Software Engineer in the Platform Operations team ever since! It’s been awesome to be able to work on a product that dogs absolutely adore and be part of the technology team that enables this to happen. I also happen to change tech stacks (again)! I now work with Ruby-on-Rails most of the time, but I still do have a soft spot for C#.
Over the years, I have also been improving my public speaking skills, by doing panels and talks at conferences and delivering workshops. My favourite was working with The National Museum of Computing on their Young Women in STEM day on a 30 minute in-person interactive machine learning workshop and tech career Q&A session for 11–16 year old students. I now co-run Curiously Code which is a technical skills community for social mobility in tech for curious people who want to code, learn, grow and empower based in Exeter and we hope to do online events soon!
Alongside being a Software Engineer, I am also a Career Change & Personal Development Coach and am working on my Accredited Level 5 Positive Psychology Practitioner & Coaching certification. I write blogs and share curious moments in the world of Career Changing & Personal Development. I help career adventurers to take control, grow and achieve their career transformation through personal development and mindset coaching energised by Positive Psychology.
2. What have you learnt in the last 4 years?
The above is a quick career snapshot, so I couldn’t include everything, but one thing is for sure, I love to learn and try new things. In my tech career, I have fortunately been able to move around different programming languages and technology stacks and this has given me a great foundation for building software in different industries.
For me, a career is more than a job title or seniority-level, it’s about building an impact, whilst recognising that there are things beyond a career that can be a source of joy and fulfilment. I have learnt a lot about myself, my values and built confidence in being my authentic self. I have let go of the need to strive for the ‘next step of the linear career ladder’, or the ‘next job title or accolade’ and instead, I’m now focused on growing outwards and laterally in both my career and lifestyle beyond technology. Whilst at the beginning, I felt some pressures around comparing myself to others and feeling like I had to ‘smash it’ as a woman in technology role model; I realised that the go-go-go career mentality was not sustainable for me and didn’t give me the lifestyle I wanted. This made me take a step back on what I wanted in life. I may never be a Forbes 30 under 30, or a multi-exit entrepreneur, but I have a good work-life blend and I can go to sleep feeling refreshed and not stressed everyday with a massive to-do list.
I have come to the conclusion that I no longer want to build a startup that I had desired 10 years ago; as I am content with working towards building a portfolio career where I get to spend some of my week being a Software Engineer and technologist and other parts of my week being a career change and personal development coach, living my life in a simple way, spending quality time with family and friends, cooking and doing my arts & crafts.
3. What advice would you give yourself 4 years ago?
One advice I would give to myself is it’s ok to try different roles in technology. For example, the time I spent taking a break from being a full-time Software Engineer and being a tech coach helped me develop skills in coaching, technical writing, curriculum design and public speaking. Also, there are so many roles in technology that haven’t had as much coverage and awareness as Software Engineering, such as DevOps, security, AI ethics and policy, law, product management, solutions engineering and architecture to name a few, but are just as impactful. This is especially in light of the impact of AI where it’s now more important than ever for people from non-traditional backgrounds to be involved in decision-making and policy-making around technology and its impact on society and the environment.
4. What do you wish you knew 4 years ago?
Recently, I became a Dream Maker as part of The Humble Penny’s Financial Joy Academy and community. Their concept of Financial Joy really resonated with me as it combines wellbeing, purpose and money. Upon reflection, I think it is absolutely ok to acknowledge that one of the factors of a tech career being an attractive option for me and many other people is the money and this of course ebbs and flows through time. I always hear people say ‘money isn’t everything’; but I disagree here as I think it depends on the context of someone’s life journey. As a person who came from an underprivileged background, I still get anxious whenever the topic of money comes up, because it opens a lot of feelings about self-worth and shame. I am getting better at improving my money mindset nowadays. Being able to stress less about my finances has enabled me the headspace to explore my creativity and new opportunities. I think money is also subjective according to someone’s goals and lifestyle. For me personally, if I can earn money by utilising my best skills in some way, whilst being able to do good with it, and have a healthy and simple lifestyle in body and in mind, that is enough for me. Also, my advice to other people is you don’t have to be a child prodigy or computer whizz to have a successful tech career; you may have skills from other roles and industries that can be invaluable for building products and organisations of the future. I also think it is sensible to grow skills outside of technology, keep an open-mind; and adapt to changes in the industry and don’t rely on one opportunity or career decision to fill your happiness.
