Careers

Don’t have a degree? Don’t despair, says a senior manager of a company which works in the specialised field of payments technology. Instead, if you have drive, determination and a willingness to go the extra mile, you could find your career advancing very well – and sometimes in a direction you might least expect. That’s the view of Liam McDermott of Stanchion Payment Solutions. “There is no question of the value of a university degree, but many people simply don’t get that opportunity once they’ve left school. By no means does this diminish your career prospects – but you might [...]

While graduation is a time for celebration, it also marks the point at which you need to take the education you’ve earned and put it to good use in the working world. But are you equipped to get the edge in a highly competitive market? Liam Mc Dermott, head of skills development at Stanchion Payment Solutions, offers some tips and insights to help you impress potential employers and get your start in a rewarding career. “Probably the most important thing for any recent graduate is acceptance that you’re not going to step into a golden opportunity just like that. Instead, [...]

Software development is an enticing career, made the more so by the popular fascination that has come with the consumerisation of technology. But just what does it take to be a top software developer? The first thing to note is that software development is not for everyone; only a very select few have the right profile to do it well (and equally importantly, to love doing it). To get an idea, of a thousand-odd people who applied for an intensive software development course, only around 60 got in and just 30 graduated. And it’s not necessarily the abilities you might [...]