James Willett's Linkedin Analytics

For my first ten years in software, I was a total failure. I got stuck in a job as a video game tester 🕹️ - kidding myself that I was "living the dream" getting paid to play games all day. In reality I was depressed, earning minimum wage, and neglecting my potential. I was desperate to land a job in software development. But my lack of confidence, dedication and knowledge meant I had "NO CHANCE" (like Vince McMahon). Then one day, a mundane assignment from my manager changed my life. My task was to create a "video tutorial", to teach some bug tracking software to other testers. The tutorial sucked (I'd never created one before, and this was loooong before YouTube was a thing). But something lit up inside me. The process of creating a video: • Writing a script • Recording the content • Editing and adding effects ... it all just resonated with me. Eventually I left my job as a games tester. I landed a job as a regular software tester (I'll spare you the details). I worked hard to improve my coding skills, started writing test automation code, and absorbed knowledge from devs surrounding me. But the KEY thing I did? I kept making videos. They still sucked (mostly). But slowly... they didn't. They got better. They became useful. For the first time in my career, I was also getting noticed. It's incredible how much even basic video and content creation will make you standout at work. Most engineers fail to appreciate this. Creating videos is the sole-factor that has supercharged my career 💪 Despite being a distinctly average coder, I went from manual software tester to principal software engineer in under 3 years. And I owe everything solely to content creation. But do you want to know the best thing? I can show you how to do the same. I can teach you skills that will change your career, prospects and life. You don’t have to be "artistic" or "creative" or indulge any other self-limiting believe. You just need to use the skills you already have as a developer. Your ability to: ‣ Observe ‣ Learn ‣ and Iterate. I’m constantly sharing advice related to content creation, software development and career progression on my channels and weekly newsletter. Follow me or send a connection request, and I’ll help you on your journey 💪