Elle Smith

"I think that all my personality types match with me. As a Developer it is important to be able to understand and want to understand how something needs to be improved and then have a go at experimenting to find the best way of doing this. It is also important to be able to work on your own or as a team as being a software developer will require both of these skills.The explorer personality fits the software developer role. Often, creating code involves problem solving - this can be done through research or through talking to others and listening to their experience. Finally, the trainer personality type fits with my role because it is essential to be efficient and organised. In my job there is always something to work on so it is important to make the most of my time and know what I should prioritise. This role probably fits the least with the job role but certainly fits with my personality and I think that listening and understanding are definitely helping me learn and build skills, which is particularly important as I am at the start of my career!"

"The starting salary for my role was £26,932. This increases by £2000 after a year of work.I work with climate and environmental data. My job involves the development of software and tools to enable researchers working in environmental sciences to more easily search, analyse and access climate and environmental data.I do this by developing web services and web applications using mainly using Python.For example, I am working on creating a tool that will allow researchers to analyse their data more easily through an online service. They will be able to calculate an average for their data, find a subset or re-grid their data without the errors they would usually get due to using data from various sources. The project involves fixing these problems before the scientist tries to do their analysis."

"I studied Physics at University. One of my favourite parts of my course was using code to solve problems so I decided this was an area I wanted to go into. I also spent a year abroad studying in Paris where I took a module based on Earth, Atmosphere and Environment and I enjoyed this so much that I decided I wanted to go into weather/climate/environmental science.I did a summer placement at the Met Office before my final year at University which I really enjoyed and confirmed to me that I wanted to go into software development! The placement was in a software development team at the Met Office where I helped create some of the code for their weather prediction tool.I applied for my current role during my last year of University and after an interview accepted the offer of a job."

"In my spare time I really enjoy running and yoga. Exercise wasn't really my thing at school as I felt a bit excluded from the sports teams but I know really enjoy it and find that running is great for helping me relax!I also like crafts such as knitting and cross stitch."

"I normally start my day by checking my emails and seeing if there's anything I need to do from this.Then I have a look at what I need to do on that day (I usually make myself a to do list before I log off the day before). After organising my day I get on with some work - this would usually be writing code for a problem that I've been asked to work on, but it could also be a research task.All the developers in my team have a meeting at 10 everyday where we discuss what we did yesterday and what we will do today. This is a good opportunity to raise any issues!I then usually get on with my work for the rest of the day. Depending on the day I could have meetings discussing progress on projects I am working on and what to work on next."

"I took A Levels in Physics, Maths, Further Maths and French. Physics was my favourite subject at school and at that point I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I decided to do a degree in my favourite subject.At school I didn't know about computer science as this wasn't offered as a subject at my school. I also didn't know a lot about the variety of courses on offer at Universities such as meteorology. I think had I known a bit more about what was on offer I may not have studied physics - but in the end I'm glad I did as it was interesting and gave me experience of a variety of areas such as code, problem solving and the environment."