This is the 4th of 6 Fellows’ stories sharing how the Fellowship programme has supported both their career and advocacy for good software practices. The stories were developed as part of the Fellows Impact Evaluation. The full report can be found here. Pseudonyms have been used for anonymity.

Cara: Becoming a university-wide expert in software sustainability.

“They want their fellows to be successful because then they advocate… in more varied and higher places.  And I definitely feel that I have succeeded in that element.”

Before the Fellowship, Cara felt she was viewed as fairly junior and was more focused on her research topic than building wider research expertise. She was self-taught in terms of good research software practices but, recently, her own software skills development had somewhat stagnated due to not being connected to others with more expertise. This had led to a sense of restlessness in her role. However, through the Fellowship she was inspired to keep learning and developing her skills. She could then fulfil her role as lead programmer offering further guidance to others in her group.

The Fellowship was the first time Cara had undertaken a project independently outside of her research group. She was daunted at first due to receiving less guidance than she had expected but then saw it as an opportunity to be proactive. She found the Fellowship was a supportive environment and her confidence was increased when an SSI staff member expressed their belief in her abilities. She still reminds herself of this conversation when experiencing self-doubt today.

The Fellowship had a pivotal effect on Cara’s career, supporting her to develop her unique skill set and, through engaging with other Fellows, clarify her own ideas and gain a sense of her own successes. The Fellowship highlighted further opportunities to her, and she was awarded a substantial fellowship that is strongly aligned with the SSI’s work. She now understands the transferability and desirability of the skill set she has developed and feels that the Fellowship has increased her employability.

Through the SSI Fellowship, Cara has become more ambitious, has more responsibility at a department and university level, and colleagues outside of her research group now seek her opinion. Her increased professional standing has led to her being in a position of greater influence to advocate for the SSI. Due to her career progressing, Cara no longer has the capacity for regular engagement with the SSI. However, she remains interested in the institute’s activities, continues to be an ambassador for the SSI, and considers herself to be a ‘fellow for life’.

Other blogs in this series

Vicky: Becoming a leader in research reproducibility

Theresa: Making the transition into research policy

Sophie: Becoming a domain-specific community leader

Frank: Becoming an expert in improving software good practices

Adrian: Advocating for software in research policy roles