ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

My name is Amina Adewusi and I am a software engineer!

So what do you actually do?

I currently work for The Guardian on tools that are used by other engineers in the department. I write Scala, which is quite a niche programming language.

What has your career path been?

I taught myself how to code after working in various banking and finance roles. It was really tough to learn by myself without a bootcamp or CS degree, but it was definitely worth it. I got my first software engineering job at the Guardian on their Digital Fellowship programme.

Prior to career changing into tech, I worked as an economist for a bank. I wrote research pieces on Africa for the bank's clients on topics such as foreign exchange, government bonds and macro-economics. I didn't study economics prior to this job, so it was an amazing opportunity to learn how the world of finance works and I was living my dream by studying African economies as I always wanted to lower poverty in Africa.

After this job I worked at CDC, a company owned by the UK Government, where I invested in African private equity funds. This was again a dream come true, because I am really passionate about African development and it was amazing to learn about private equity, which again, I had no background in whatsoever.

I did a bit of soul searching after leaving private equity and spent a few years freelancing. I worked on a number of different projects and spent a lot of time in Lagos and Nairobi, which was amazing. I made so many good friends that I will never forget. I worked with startups mostly and angel investors which was incredibly exciting. I also spent a lot of time working for the UK Government's department for international development at the time.

When I became a Mum I knew that I couldn't keep travelling to Africa. It was a bit sad, because that is my dream, to be there and to help contribute to lowering poverty through job creation. However, I feel like I've put that dream on pause rather than left it behind entirely.

Becoming a software engineer has been an amazing journey. I taught myself how to code using free online resources whilst working full time and looking after a baby. I worked with some amazing mentors who kindly gave me their time for free and I made lifelong friends. Being a software engineer is definitely my favourite job out of all the ones I've done since I started working. I hope to stay in this industry for the foreseeable future. Hopefully I'll be able to combine my love for Africa with my love for engineering one day.

What is the best part of your job?

I really enjoy constantly learning new things.

My favourite things are learning from engineers who have been practicing their craft for many years and also sharing the knowledge that I have gained with others.

Why do you do your job?

I love learning new things and get a real kick out of mastering complex topics. I really enjoy logical reasoning and working with concepts and ideas, things that I can't see. I think that's why backend engineering really inspires me.

I joined the engineering industry as a career changer because I became a Mum and my previous job involved a lot of travel.

I wanted to do a job I could do more easily from home and quite flexibly (this was pre-COVID of course!). Being a software engineer has been great for giving me lots of time with my family.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

I would say that everything should be done with balance.

There's so much to learn when you're a software engineer, you can't possibly know it all. Sometimes that can feel overwhelming. Sometimes it's frustrating when you hit a challenge in your work and it's a struggle to fix. Making sure that work is not your everything and that you have a balanced life is really important.

Any parting words?

I found it really challenging to teach myself how to code and become a software engineer, but it was one of the best things I ever did. I find that this career is well suited to motherhood, because it's so flexible.

It's really easy for me to work from home and work asynchronously. I would really recommend this career to everyone.

Check out Amina’s Twitter below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

I have a 4 year old and a lot of my daily routine revolves around him as he's not in full time school yet, so everyday is quite different. Also, we're just coming out of COVID and my work office has opened up, so this is another change that I'm managing after so long working from home during lockdown.

My current day starts anywhere between 4:30-6:30am depending on how successful my alarm clock has been in waking me up! I try to wake up early everyday so that I have time to do self-care activities such as meditate and exercise at home or to do some side project work.

This morning I woke up at 5am and just sat in bed with a cuppa writing my diary and doing my meditation and prayer. Everyday is different in this regard and I just play it by ear.

I'm trying to do less side project work these days, because I do have a habit of over-working and I'm doing my best to keep a check on this. I notice that it can have a negative impact on my mood and it's not great for my family life and mental health.

Once my son wakes up at 6:30am I help to get him ready for the day and then we all usually leave the house around 7:20am for the school run. My husband and I drop off our son to breakfast club or his childminder and then I drop off my husband to his school as he's a school teacher.

I really enjoy the school run, because it gives me a chance to spend a bit of time with my family having a bit of banter in the car. This morning I was singing songs with my son (one of our favourite things is making up our own songs) and it can also be an opportunity to catch up with my husband as the moments we have together are so precious now that we have a little one.

Now it's around 8am and if it's a good day I'll drive to our local sports club. This morning for example I went for a swim in both the indoor and outdoor pools which was just heavenly and then went to the spa. I really feel that this is a wonderful way for me to show love and care towards myself and this is definitely my favourite kind of day. Working from home allows me to do this, whereas if I need to go into the office this time would be spent on my commute which is at least 1 hour and 15 minutes on the train into central London.

I find that I really am the kind of person who needs daily physical activity, otherwise my body collects stress like a sponge and I find that I can't be such a happy and positive person otherwise. Post lockdown I haven't quite worked out a way to incorporate this into the days I need to go into the office, but hoping I'll have nailed this soon.

After this I'll start work around 9:30am. I'll walk the few metres from my house to my home office at the bottom of the garden! I've invested a lot of energy in making my home office really cosy and pretty. I take a deep breath in when I go in there. It feels like a peaceful nourishing space.

I usually start by checking our engineering chat channels to see if everything is ok and nothing is broken! I'll read my emails quickly and then look at my daily TODO list which I always write for myself the evening before as my memory is terrible!

I might continue some coding work that I have been doing or I might hop onto a call with a colleague to work together on some code. This is one of my favourite things. I really enjoy collaborating on programming problems. I learn so much from others and enjoy the practice of reasoning and investigating with someone else. I find the time just slips away so quickly in these moments.

Around 11am my whole team will have standup, which is a daily meeting where everyone in turn describes what they will be working on that day. It's a moment when engineers can ask for help on anything they've been working on and share experiences from the day previous.

After standup I will continue working on whatever needs doing, which is a mixture of working on a programming problem, writing up work to be completed in the future, or meetings, lots and lots of meetings! I don't really enjoy being in lots of meetings and much prefer to be working on a technical problem, but despite stereotypes software engineering is highly collaborative and much more so than any other job I've done in the past.

I usually break for lunch around 1pm and try to go for a walk in the local forest nearby my house. Walking or running in nature is another thing that I can't do without. I find that it feeds my soul and completely rejuvenates me. It's one of my favourite things and I feel so lucky to live in the suburbs, closer to nature.

In the afternoon I'll usually have some meetings or more programming with other engineers. It's rare that I have a day without meetings or programming completely alone. I'm also quite active in participating in various groups we have at work, for example I teach scala to engineers who are beginners. This is one of my favourite things because I feel like I can express love and care to others through teaching. I really enjoy the feeling of supporting someone's learning and it is a huge motivator for me.

During my days at home I usually multi-task by both working and trying to get my house chores done. If I'm working alone I will set a timer for 25 minutes to do coding work and then I'll do some cleaning for 10 minutes and continue that cycle.

I'll usually end the day around 5:30pm and go and pick up my husband and then we'll pick up our son. Usually we're all quite tired and ready to eat and sleep by the time we get home! I might play some lego with my son and my husband will usually do bathtime and I'll do reading time.

Often I'm so tired I end up sleeping shortly after my son goes to sleep around 7:30pm!! But I'll try and meditate before I sleep as I find I get a much better nights rest this way.

I'm really grateful for the life I get to experience at the moment. Sometimes I do find work stressful, but by the time I get out of the swimming pool or finish my run in the forest, it feels as if I've completed a meditation and my attention is completely cleared of thoughts. These are the moments that keep me going and help me to continue on.