After passing his A-Level exams at school, Martin went straight into work as an on-call IT Technician, for a small company in his hometown of Morpeth, Northumberland. He learned his trade helping solve IT queries for local small companies that did not have their own IT support. Although a high-pressure role dealing with urgent IT call outs, he gained valuable experience and found a passion for helping people.
As a result of his first job experience, Martin decided to enhance his IT skills and enrolled onto Edinburgh Napier’s Cyber Security course, as he had an interest in ethical hacking security. Shortly after starting though, he fell in love with the Software Engineering module of the course. This prompted Martin to transfer and study Software Engineering instead. Whilst in third and fourth year, Martin further developed his passion for helping people by mentoring the younger students.
After graduating in 2016, Martin worked as a software developer for Intelligent Point of Sale, a small start-up company in Edinburgh. His role involved developing an app through which retail transactions can be completed. In his first couple of years at the company Martin worked in various roles from software engineering to team leader and more specialised roles in fiscal compliance.
Intelligent Point of Sale was bought by Swedish company Zettle in 2016, another rapidly expanding start-up company developing mobile payment systems. Zettle was bought over by PayPal in 2018.
Martin describes his current role of Agile Team Coach at Zettle for PayPal, as ‘the grease that keeps things running smoothly.’ Since his first office with 10 staff, Martin now has thousands of colleagues worldwide, including several Edinburgh Napier alumni.
“Edinburgh Napier alumni stand out from other graduates as their practical, hands-on skills are streaks ahead. ENU gets it right and prepares students for working life by ensuring that live real-world projects are part of the third-year curriculum. In my role it is important to find staff that are willing to learn. Someone else might look better on paper, but practical skills are key, and you learn more, and more quickly in a working environment rather than in theory.”
He thrives on helping his team solve problems logically and understands the many diverse coding languages required to develop software.
“The stereotypical image of computer geek sitting alone in a darkened room is not the reality. Today, software developers must work together to collaborate on large projects and be good communicators."
Martin admits that his love of online gaming is where he ‘cut his teeth’ with teamwork and team leading.
“Leading a group of 20 or so people to achieve a goal in a game requires many of the same skills as working with a team in a company. You need to be able to solve interpersonal issues, have effective communication skills and a good amount of forward thinking. Like modern software development, the modern gamer is often very social whilst playing an online game.”
Martin gives his advice to graduates entering the industry:
"Do not take criticism personally in your job. People are trying to help you improve and protect the quality of your work. Be honest in any interview, it is important to state if you do not know something, know your boundaries, and be willing to learn. That is a hundred times more important than trying to talk your way into a role. You will be more appreciated for being honest and willing to learn. Also, be flexible and do not tie yourself to a single coding language, learn as many as you can to broaden your career options within the industry.’"