What path has your career taken since graduation? 

I joined J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPMC) Glasgow as a Software Engineer (SWE) in Asset Management (AM) Trading Technology straight after graduation. I enrolled via the Tech Connect Program which specialised in hiring diverse students from non-Computer Science academic backgrounds.

What is your current role?

My current role is a SWE in (AM) Trading Technology at JPMC Glasgow. The team supports the global buy-side Equities Trading desk which consist of Traders that execute orders raised by Portfolio Managers who manage funds on behalf of investors. I am in the server-side, Europe, Middle East, and Africa squad who specialise in automating trades. My job mainly involves writing and testing code to maintain and deliver new features to our trading system software called Spectrum Trading. The main programming languages I use are Java, SQL, and Bash, and I also use a variety of tools/frameworks such as Spring, Google Guice, JUnit, Mockito, Maven, and Jenkins.
My typical week involves attending meetings to discuss project progression, writing and testing code for new software features, and resolving production issues. I also keep up with financial news, participate in volunteering activities, and allocate time to learning new technologies. The types of projects I work on include data migrations, accommodating regulatory changes, and automating trading processes. The thing I find most rewarding about my area of work is getting exposure to the business such as communicating day-to-day with the traders.

What experiences do you feel helped you get to your current position?

I feel that previous experiences in learning programming languages helped me get my current position. These included studying the ‘Fundamentals of C Programming’ in first year, MATLAB and R languages for ‘Engineering Mathematics’ in second year, Verilog programming for ‘Digital Systems and Design’ in third year, and Python for my bachelor’s thesis: ‘The Development of a Machine Learning Computer-Aided Design Filter Using Computational Geometry’.
I was also active in The University of Edinburgh Hyperloop Team (HYPED) during my first and second years where I helped design emergency brakes, led most of the mechanical engineering team, and competed twice at the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition in California, United States. I feel that HYPED helped me gain teamwork and leadership skills, improved my ability to handle stress, and made my curriculum vitae and cover letter stand out from the competition.  
Moreover, I also volunteered (first two years) and worked (last two years) as a Digital Manufacturing Technician (penultimate year) and then a Virtual/Augmented (VR/AR) Reality Technician (final year) at the uCreate Studio in the Main Library. There I learnt to take responsibility and ownership for my systems, gained technical problem solving abilities, and improved my ability to manage my time. My experiences at uCreate helped me showcase my passion for technology during interviews.

How have you used the skills and/or knowledge developed during your degree in your career?

I use the programming skills I developed during my degree in my career everyday such as understanding the differences in syntax between languages, considering the pros and cons of using various algorithms, and the importance of writing clean and maintainable code. The knowledge I gained at HYPED has helped me to deal with stress in a fast-paced environment, understand and manage risk, and highlighted the long-term benefits of working in a high performing team. uCreate has taught me how to deliver a project from start to finish, thinking outside the box when solving problems, and the importance of being professional with clients.

What advice would you give to students who are interested in your area of work?

My advice for students who are interested in my area of work would be to build strong technical programming skills in at least one language. This will help you decide if becoming a SWE is something you will enjoy in the long-term, it will be the primary focus of interviews and assessments, and is the most important skill you will need day-to-day. I would recommend learning a programming language during your degree, participating in Computer Science or related societies in between classes, and reading books and building projects during your free time.
Apart from that, explore different areas of technology (and finance!) via degree subjects and university societies to understand your strengths/weaknesses and likes/dislikes, weigh factors when considering career paths, and narrow your job scope so you can focus on building relevant skills and experience. For example, I loved programming during my Digital Systems and Design 3 course and learned financial theory when I traded stocks during my free time. HYPED made me realise that I wanted to work at a challenging and financially rewarding job. As a result, I decided to switch my uCreate job specialism to VR/AR to get exposure to technology, explore financial companies during my penultimate year summer holiday in London, and focus my thesis scope on programming skills and AI/ML.

This profile was published in May 2024