Women in Tech of the Month: Phoebe Gaydon and Sarah Hamilton

Woman in Tech of the Month is our series exploring the achievements of women who are breaking gender stereotypes to build technology-based careers. This month, we’re excited to have two Women in Tech of the Month – the winners of our latest web development course. We hear from Phoebe Gaydon and Sarah Hamilton to find out more about their achievements, the skills they learned on the course and any advice they have for other Women in Tech.

Phoebe Gaydon

What an absolute pleasure to be a nominee for Woman in Tech of the Month! I'm currently working as a programme manager at Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR), an independent creative agency based in Camden, UK. I work across many brands on lots of different types of projects, such as global packaging redesigns, web UI/UX and spatial design. I applied for WiT because I studied further maths at school, and I love to problem solve – front-end development felt like the perfect fit with design and the nitty gritty of coding.

How did you get into tech and what interests you most about it?

I think it's a pivotal time to get into tech as innovation over the next few years will inevitably be what supports us to overcome the problems we face in our future. As part of JKR's diversity, equity and inclusion committee, I see so many sectors aren’t as diverse as they should be – particularly in tech, women are under-represented. 

Tell us about your experience on the course

It was an excellent experience, learning from the knowledgeable and supportive PA instructors. They allowed me to elevate the few learnings I had in HTML/CSS from past online courses. If you're thinking about applying, do it! There was such a varying level of competence in development and the team was very considerate of individual learning paths. I was very proud of the website Sarah and I delivered, and I look forward to continuing working on it.

Sarah Hamilton

I work in PA’s digital team. I got into tech through my degree in creative computing. After I graduated, I followed this career path and have gained a good breadth of experience in different tech roles. What interests me most about tech is the changing nature of it and the different challenges I face, as well as learning new things and meeting new people.

There are different sides to the tech industry, whether you identify more as a creative, an analyst, a people person or an independent individual, so I have plenty of opportunities to meet different personalities in a fast passed environment, which I enjoy. 

Tell us about your experience on the course

The course is a thoroughly worthwhile experience that I would recommend. My advice to anyone interested in technology is to do your research, find out what aspects of the tech industry work for you – what you’re good at and what you enjoy – and then just go for it!