329: Find Your Personal "And" and Bring What Makes You Unique To Your IT Career with Meredydd Luff

In this week's show, Phil talks to Meredydd Luff, the CEO and cofounder of Anvil, a platform for building full-stack web apps entirely in Python. He has a PhD in building usable programming systems from Cambridge University and he wants to make programming more accessible for everyone. Meredydd talks about the importance of finding your "and" – the secondary skill that adds value to you. He also discusses why bringing your unique offerings to your IT career can make all the difference.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Look for what your personal "and" is. If you are just a developer then that's okay, but it's always best to be one thing "and" another. This makes life much more interesting and yourself much more valuable.   WORST CAREER MOMENT After completing a huge amount of work, Meredydd discovered that his system had been built upon degraded hard disks. This led to a huge outage for a popular messaging system in the Philippines.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Starting and building Anvil – taking the complete system from an idea to fruition, and the experiences learned along the way.   THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T As cloud services and the like continue to grow, it has meant that the doors are open to far more people. So long as people have the drive to do so, the IT sector is open to all.   THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Meredydd was attracted to the creative component of IT. What's the best career advice you received? – That studying something we enjoy is fine, and can sit well alongside a serious career. What's the worst career advice you received? – That he should have taken the money over a route that seemed more fun. What would you do if you started your career now? – Meredydd would begin tinkering with systems a lot earlier than he did. What are your current career objectives? Refining and perfecting Anvil and turning into the best system it can be. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Being an extrovert, caring about others, and curiosity. How do you keep your own career energized? – Running a startup! What do you do away from technology? – Flying airplanes and ballroom dancing.   FINAL CAREER TIP Find the thing that is interesting to you, and upon which you can offer a unique perspective, and bring that to your IT career.   BEST MOMENTS (6:00) – Meredydd - "The way things are with traditional web development, there's not much a learning curve as a learning cliff" (8:12) – Meredydd - "Being at the intersection of someone who can do two different things – that's really valuable" (23:53) – Meredydd – "If you are one of these people who has the bit between their teeth, the fact that there are so many routes into a career means that you can afford to follow your heart" (27:02) – Meredydd – "If you are the tinkering type, then tinkering your way into a career is as valid a choice as ever"   ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organizations to design, develop, and implement software solutions.  Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers.  And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.   CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/_PhilBurgess LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Instagram: https://instagram.com/_philburgess Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer   ABOUT THE GUEST – MEREDYDD LUFF Meredydd Luff is the CEO and cofounder of Anvil, a platform for building full-stack web apps entirely in Python. He has a PhD in building usable programming systems from Cambridge University and he wants to make programming more accessible for everyone.   CONTACT THE GUEST – MEREDYDD LUFF Meredydd Luff can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredydd/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/meredydd Website: https://anvil.works