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Roberta and Flutter colleagues

Kin + Carta Career Stories: Roberta Goodhead

We're kicking off our career stories with Roberta, a member of our multi-talented App Services Community of Practice (CoP). Always in high demand, Roberta's been at Kin + Carta for over a year now, and besides her work with our clients, Roberta is often my go-to for requests for help when it comes to our website! Take a read below for her take on life at Kin + Carta so far.

So, Roberta, what do you love most about your role at Kin + Carta?

For me I have always been creative; I really enjoy making products. I get great satisfaction from seeing something I've been involved with, and worked on, come to life.

Tell us about a memorable moment you’ve had at Kin + Carta.

I've had so many good moments so it's hard to pinpoint one! I remember my first day clearly, travelling across London from Kin + Carta’s studio to TfL’s office. This day set the tone for my time at Kin + Carta as not only was I working with a company I had heard so much about, but I also knew that working at Kin + Carta would offer me so much variety in the clients we work with.

Why do you love working at Kin + Carta?

While working at Kin + Carta, I've worked with a variety of technologies and products, and in different roles. On various projects I've been front end only (JavaScript React), back end only (.Net) and full stack. In addition, Kin + Carta also hosts regular workshops that allows us to try out new technologies - such as Arduino and Flutter

Which CoP are you part of, and what do you guys do at Kin + Cart?

I am primarily in the Web CoP, but I am actively involved in the Flutter and Backend CoP too! Day-to-day, I work on front-end, back-end and full stack developments, ranging from JavaScript to .Net to Ruby to Java development. Again, it’s this diversity that makes the job so interesting.

Why did you get into tech in the first place?

I’ve always enjoyed Maths, but I wanted to do something both a bit more practical and creative. I thought about studying Computing, but I was slightly anxious about it, to be honest. I had a strong interest in tech, especially as it was during an interesting time when the industry was evolving fast, but I hadn’t done any programming before! A good number of other students, thought, were in the same situation as me and so I ended up having a great time.

What excites you most about working in tech?

How it is always evolving. Without a doubt. I’m also excited about how collaborative the tech industry is, and how we learn from each others’ experiences, from success to mistakes.

What does an average day at Kin + Carta look like?

There isn't really an average day at Kin + Carta! Some days we’re predominantly coding, other days are packed with sprint meetings and workshops and at other times, we’re planning our next product release.

Have any career advice for those just starting out?

Yes! I have three pieces of advice to give to those who want to kick-start their career in technology:

  • The first is to experiment. If you are interested in a certain technology, just get stuck in.
  • The second is to identify what the best practices are for professional projects.
  • The third is not to worry if you feel overwhelmed or stupid when learning something new: it gets better and easier with experience to do that, and you'll discover a way of learning that works for you.

What’s been your biggest career challenge yet and how did you overcome it?

As I become more experienced in my career, it’s up to me to come up with the best solution for the problem. In the past, there has been a great deal of doubt in my mind whether my eventual solution is the best one. I’ve overcome these doubts with sheer experience, and learning about the best industry practices. At times, where the solution is open to more interpretation, asking others about their past experiences helps as well. That’s where our CoP (communities of practice) structure makes such a difference: being able to tap up other people easily. Technology is always evolving, and collectively we are always creating better ways of solving problems together.

Tech in the first place

What’s been the steepest learning curve since you joined Kin + Carta?

For me, it is more related to DevOps. This extends from product releases to Azure resource setup. It seemed overwhelming at first, but I realised that you do not need to know everything all at once. I'm still on that learning curve now.

Describe Kin + Carta in 5 words?

Smart. Pragmatic. Fun. Supportive. Orange!

How long have you been at Kin + Carta?

It will be 3 years next month!

How did you find out about Kin + Carta?

Through a job hunting site - Talent Rocket - which I had heard about via a meetup. Meetups are a great way to meet other developers, get to know about their work, and find out about opportunities at tech companies.

We're currently looking for awesome App Services engineers like Roberta to join the CoP.

View our open roles