Bethan Gawthorne

"I ma a very logical person with a big imagination and am able to visualise solutions and process flows before I even begin to code them. This skill comes in very handy when I am presented with large specifications and customer requirements as I am able to see the actions that I need the software to handle before seeing it in real life."

"I work as part of a team of software developers building and maintaining a housing repairs software suite. We work together to provide a database to allow local governments to maintain and manage their housing stock. We will be given pieces of work to develop, either individually or as part of a small sub team, and it is down to us to realise the requirements deliver a working solution that can be sold to customers.I love getting a large specification through that I have to sit down and digest in order to fully understand it and plan out how I am going to turn it into a working piece of code. The starting salary for my role is about £22,000."

"I have always enjoyed using computers and spend much of my free time at school in the computer room (It was quite a novelty back then!). I did a number of jobs along my way, including being a dinner lady, but while I was working on a customer helpdesk I decided that I should get my skills with computers formalised so I could use them for something. I started of completing my European Computer Drivers License, which was a basic PC course, before obtaining my degree through The Open University. From there I got a job at my local council providing technical support on a specific Civica provided system. After a few years I had learnt the business landscape and was confident with supporting the software so I applied for a job at Civica to learn how develop the application. My Dad has always had a really strong work ethic and his tenacity has been passed onto me, so while some days were so hard, I never gave up and it has become infinitely easier over time."

"I am a mum to two young boys so the majority of my free time is spend playing and teaching them, I can't wait until they are old enough for me to teach them how to code! I also enjoy keeping fit and workout 5 times a week at home doing a mixture of cardio and weight training. Before having children I was a competitive powerlifter and represented Great Britain in Germany. I love food and am trying to grown as much of the food we consume as possible."

"I log on and each morning we have a short team meeting to discuss what we will be working on for that day and make sure there wont be any conflicts of code. My day can then go one of two ways, if I am working on the small changes list I will get stuck in and make 5-10 changes depending on what is required. This involves getting the latest version of the software from the central store, making my change to the code, testing it against what is required and then uploading it back to the central area. If I am working on a larger project I will begin by dividing the project into smaller sections and then each section into a set of tasks. I will then work my way through each set of tasks, testing what I can as I go. At the end of a big project there will be a full test to ensure it works and then I check all the new code into the central store.Alongside this I will answer emails and calls from others in the team helping them install software I have written or answering functionality questions. I also work closely wit hour quality control team to ensure all the software that goes to customers is of a high standard."

"Bachelor of Science Degree in ICT & Computing - The Open University.European Computer Driving License."