Hello World.

Hey, I am Edd.

Since 2010 I have been working as a professional developer and tech lead. Before that, I managed the tech stack for a shop and online store that I owned. In fact, I can’t really remember a time when computers were not the centre of my life, right back to my first school report in which my fascination with the class computer is lamented.

I have often struggled to rub along in life. I was an academically challenged child, people had awful trouble teaching me anything. Breaking into coding was particularly tough for me, I frequently felt like an outsider, taken advantage of by others, and rarely met anyone in the industry who I related too.

Thankfully, I am both capable and practical. I have always found ways to play to my strengths, and carved out my own little space. Resulting in a fulfilling career working with some wonderful clients, delivering meaningful products.

Advocating for Equality In Tech

Born of my struggles, I have always felt attuned to the other underrepresented groups in the sector, and I have always pushed an agenda of equality in tech.

I am proud to have held the ladder, to help a diverse range of people into the industry, and mentored them to help them thrive.

I have never had a huge platform, but whatever one I have had. I have persistently used to push the agenda of equality in tech.

I haven’t done this for personal gain. But because I can. Because I can’t stand the injustice and, frankly, because it seemed like a worthwhile thing to be doing.

A Late Autism Diagnosis

In 2024, aged 36, I was diagnosed with Autism.

Following this diagnosis. Large chunks of my life, and career, started to make sense.

Initially, I was reticent to share this. After all, I had only recently been told by government funded ‘business advisors’ not to tell anyone about my difficulties, lest I am “pigeonholed”, or considered “unreliable” or “suicidal”.

However, I have come to realise that being silent only perpetuates the barriers, and biases that hold so many back.

The truth is that I am an accomplished programmer and tech lead, with clients and SaaS products getting on for a decade old. I have transformed troublesome dev teams and been a technical director in numerous companies. For those that recognise my skilllset and are willing to pay, I can deliver exceptional results.

But there’s only one topic I will talk about for free going forward; equality in the tech industry.

Join Me

If the last 15 years in industry has taught me anything; it’s that we will only achieve equality in tech if we each take responsibility as individuals.

It would be my delight if you came along for the ride. Sign up to this blog to stay connected, or better yet, contribute your experiences and insights. Maybe over the course of our careers, we can leave the industry in a better state than we found it.

Thanks for reading.

Edd