This is the 5th 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.

Frank: Becoming an expert in improving software good practices.

“I think, coming from a self-trained RSE background, it really helped that the SSI community… was very open from the get-go… it helped me build confidence around the [software sustainability] topics that I’m working on at the moment.”

Frank is a self-taught programmer from a less computational research area. He became interested in software practices when he noticed the inadequate maintenance of his software when fixed-term contracts ended.  At the start of his Fellowship he lacked confidence as he perceived his background to be less technical than that of most other SSI fellows. However, he found that the community was interested in what he had to say and the SSI leaders were approachable. This supported him to build confidence around good software practices and quickly develop a sense of belonging at the SSI. Additionally, Frank is a first-generation graduate who didn’t have university educated role models within his family. Instead, during his upbringing, he was encouraged to explore different possibilities and he felt this approach was welcomed at the SSI.

Gaining the SSI Fellow’s title increased Frank’s professional standing and the SSI network gave him a forum to discuss his ideas, find collaborators and gain input and expertise from the wider community. When he experienced some initial difficulties with his SSI project, the SSI community supported him to understand that it was still worthwhile pursuing. His project then went on to have highly successful outcomes and it was the collaborative ethos of the SSI that he felt was instrumental to this success.

Frank’s career has changed significantly over the course of the Fellowship through connecting him with key people in his new domain. Additionally, access to a network of policymakers, funders, and RSEs through the SSI supported his professional development, especially when starting his new role. He now feels confident that he could find future work if he needs to as the Fellowship has allowed him to understand the value of his skill set. This has reduced the anxiety associated with the precarity of short-term contracts.

Frank still has a close relationship with the SSI, continues to do collaborative work with other fellows and advertise his SSI fellow status. He would expect his relationship with the SSI to remain mutually beneficial into the future and continues to attend Collaborations Workshops which he sees as a highlight of the year.

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

Cara: Becoming a university-wide expert in software sustainability

Adrian: Advocating for software in research policy roles