What’s your career journey looked like so far?
I spent the beginning of my career working in the sports industry after studying Sports and Exercise Science at University. I soon realised I wanted to switch industries and thought FinTech could be an interesting option. I found out about Moneybox through a referral from a friend who worked here, and joined the company as a Support Team Executive in February 2021.
During my 11 months in the Customer Support team I learned so much about Moneybox, our products and our ways of working. This time gave me a solid appreciation of how customers interact with us, and what they expect from our service.
After a year, I took on additional responsibilities as an Investment Subject Matter Expert (SME). I worked closely with the Investing Mission and the Product team to pass on feedback themes from customers and to keep my team informed about key app updates and new feature rollouts. This role helped our products to stay relevant to customers’ needs. In this role I built strong relationships with multiple teams, which definitely played a part in my future career moves.
In April 2022, I moved across into my current role as a Junior Systems Engineer in the Cloud Apps team. I’d already expressed an interest in a move across to tech, plus I’d started learning how to code using Udemy in my learning hour*, so this role came along at a great time!
*All Moneybox employees are entitled to block out one hour per week to spend on focussed L&D activities relevant to their role.
How have you found the transition from Support to Engineering?
Becoming a Junior Systems Engineer is a significant career change given that I have no prior experience of coding in a workplace environment! However, the role was designed in-house to help bridge the gap between the engineering team and other teams in the company.
There are two of us from Customer Support who have made the transition to Engineering at the same time, which has definitely helped! We’re able to support each other and learn together, which has made the transition easier.
We were given a four month onboarding plan which helped us learn tech fundamentals needed for the role. Moneybox also paid for a Codecademy subscription which has been useful for learning different coding languages like C#, ASP.net, and Python.
We’ve also done lots of on-the-job learning , which has undoubtedly been the quickest way to learn. Sitting with the team and having them explain why they do things a certain way is really useful. Everyone in the team is friendly and welcoming, and they’re always on hand to answer any questions we have.
How has Moneybox helped with your development?
When I joined Moneybox I made it clear I wanted to work with data in the future. In Customer Support I told various people, who went on to help me enhance my analysis skills. I was given access to SQL so I could start to explore in my learning hour, and I also made use of the Udemy license (available to all employees at Moneybox) to complete courses on SQL, Power BI and C#.
Do you have any advice for anyone looking to make a career change?
Have patience with yourself! When you invest in yourself and dedicate your own time into upskilling, opportunities will eventually present themselves. I found that the work I put into my Support team role was invaluable in gaining first-hand experience of how Moneybox supports customers, leading to me being a great candidate for the Engineering role.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to chat with people from across the company! Having contacts in different teams is great socially and can be beneficial when it comes to future career moves.
What’s your favourite thing about working at Moneybox?
I really enjoy working from the office! I’ve found that I appreciate socialising with colleagues in person so much more after working from home during the Covid-19 lockdowns – it’s great to be able to spend time with work friends over a coffee!
I also love being based near Southbank – this is my first London-based role, so I like exploring the area at lunchtime!
Do you have any advice for someone looking to apply for a role at Moneybox?
Go for it! Taking the first step into a growing company can be pivotal in your career. Roles can evolve and opportunities can present themselves down the line, regardless of the role you start with.
We work hard to promote and maintain our values-based approach, so taking a look at our ALOT Values and thinking about how you align with them will put you in a great position to apply.
Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of being surrounded by a fun and ambitious team!
