Scottish Careers Week 2023 - My Career Change with Jonathan Parker, Data Engineer.

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#ScotCareersWeek23

It’s day three of Scottish Careers Week! All week, we’ll hear about the significant career changes that our Quorumites have made that led them to us.

The aim of #ScotCareersWeek23 is to offer career guidance, information, and resources to those looking to make informed career decisions.

Meet Jonathan Parker, a former Project Manager who turned his passion for data into a career. Jonathan can now be found as a Data Engineer in our Data and AI team.

What did you do before Quorum?

I held a number of different roles (PMO, Business Analyst, Project Manager) in a large IT outsourcing company, primarily working on infrastructure projects for public sector clients. Prior to that, I worked for a couple of local authorities on digital connectivity projects.

Immediately before Quorum, however, I completed the Professional Data Analysis course at Codeclan. This was a full-time, 14-week course covering some of the core concepts of data as well as the fundamentals in data transformation, analysis, and presentation.

What prompted your career move?

I think the main reason for wanting to change my career was a desire to do something I actually enjoyed and was passionate about. The project work I was doing was okay, and it paid the bills, but I never found it very engaging. We spend a huge part of our lives working, so I think actually finding something that gets you out of bed in the morning is a worthwhile endeavour.
So I started thinking about what I might enjoy more, and it occurred to me that the best parts of all the jobs I’d had were those that involved working with data in some way, whether that be reporting, analysis, or even tidying up other people’s mess in Excel…

I’d heard of Codeclan and started looking into their software development course but ultimately decided it wasn’t for me. But later when they started running the data course, I was convinced this was a better fit.

Unfortunately, I waited far too long to make the jump, probably three or four years after deciding I wanted to do it. The cost of the course was a factor, as well as the uncertainty of not having a job at the end of it. However, like many others, I decided during the pandemic that it was now or never and finally set things in motion.

What advice would you give anyone thinking about a career change?

Don’t do what I did! If you know you want a change, then don’t delay, make it happen as soon as you can. I think a good way to motivate yourself is to think about where you want to be a year from now and work backward from it. It’s easy to get stuck just taking each day as it comes but having a rough plan (that’s the PM in me speaking) of achievable goals can make all the difference.

I’d also say it’s never too early to show an interest in a company you like the look of. I’d spoken to the Recruitment team at Quorum a couple of times before I’d even started the data course, which I think made them a bit more receptive to my application. The best companies don’t just want technical skills, they want people who are interested and passionate and who want to be there – and you don’t need technical skills to demonstrate that.

Lastly, learn to deal with imposter syndrome. Everyone gets it to varying degrees. If you don’t, you’re probably doing it wrong.