Software Development Career Profile

Name: Karl Stanley
Profession: Software Engineer

I have been interested in computers since I was a child. When I was 13, I got a job delivering leaflets so I could buy a Sinclair Spectrum (an ancient home computer that would load programs from a cassette tape).

I went to TCD to study maths and philosophy but switched to pure maths after first year. At the time, the maths department in TCD was a good place to be if you had an interest in computers, as there were lots of courses in mathematical computing and it was possible to take some courses from the Computer Science department. The School of Mathematics also hosted the very first website in Ireland, so there was a lot to learn if you were interested.

I currently work for Ticket-Text (http://www.ticket-text.com/). My main responsibility is to write software that makes running the business simpler and more efficient. The purpose of technology is to automate the things that people are bad at, so they can spend more time doing things they are good at.

People are not so good at repetitive tasks involving attention to detail. Computers are great at this sort of work. For instance, in our business the operations team need to enter the details for lots of live performances, set up ticket pricing structures, upload media to the website etc.

This is quite error prone and tedious to do by hand, so the technology team helps by writing tools that take care of the details automatically. This allows the operations team to devote more of their time to developing relationships with promoters and venue owners, which adds value to the business.

I make sure I spend up to an hour every day reading articles on technology (usually blogs and mailing lists) to keep up with new developments. This is important, as software is a constantly changing field and web development in particular changes all the time.

One of the most satisfying events happened very early in my career when I was with MVT (Machine Vision Technology) in Dublin. I wrote some mathematical software to enable the inspection machines to process a circuit board approximately 10% faster than before, which was a big win for the company. That code still runs on over 1,000 machines worldwide a decade later. That gives me a little glow of pride.

What attributes are useful in software engineering? Intellectual curiosity - wanting to know how things work is a big plus. A certain kind of laziness - good software is all about finding things that are tedious and getting the computer to do them for you. Patience - you’re going to be asked to do the impossible. Or you’re going to be asked to do something that’s hugely important, only to be told it’s no longer a priority once you’re finished. Don’t let it get to you!

If you can get an internship with a software house, that is great work experience. The best way to learn to write software is to write software! An internship is a good way to get exposure to these things. When it came to getting my first job, having that practical experience (and a good reference) definitely gave me an edge over the other candidates.