I began working as a chef after graduating from university in 2018. I didn’t dream of becoming a chef – I certainly didn’t long for Rosettes or coveted Michelin stars – I just needed to pay my rent and there was an abundance of kitchen roles in my new hometown of Leeds.
And that was that. The next 18 months or so were spent in various kitchens around the city: some chains, some independents – lots of grills and fryers. Whilst I’d worked front of house before, I’d never prepared food for paying customers, so it was a fairly steep learning curve. Naively, I was just happy to get paid a little more than a bartender and not to have to deal with drunkards.
It was shortly after starting a new role, at a brand new restaurant in the city centre, a mysterious virus – which up until that point had been somewhat of a media curiosity – began to be taken seriously by the authorities. Then, just a few days before our launch, the country was plunged into lockdown and everything was cancelled. COVID had arrived.
Fast forward to summer 2020. “Eat Out to Help Out” was in full force. Our restaurant was fully booked all week, for weeks. Shifts rolled by in 9, 10 and 12-hour increments. My life became a steady breeze of grilled meat, deep fried delights and curry. Lots and lots of curry.
I began to forget what “normal” life looked like – even my hours away from work were spent with colleagues drinking to forget hard shifts, or standing by the microwave in the middle of the night reheating leftovers I’d brought home from my shift. It was around this time that the seed was planted – did I want to do this for the rest of my working life?
Another 18 months rolled by; jobs came and went. By the time Omicron had started making the rounds, I had clawed my way into a Chef de Partie position at a respectable restaurant in the city centre. Sadly, this wasn’t to last. When our bookings began to fall as a result of the fresh panic, I was laid off. Whilst this was a real kick in the teeth, it gave me an opportunity to reflect on what I really wanted from life and I began to reconsider my career path.
It was pure luck that I discovered a series of tech apprenticeships on a government jobs portal. The tech industry greatly appealed to me because of the myriad possibilities for growth, development and career change within the industry – as opposed to working your way up the stations of a kitchen brigade, years at a time. In spite of this, it had always seemed inaccessible to me as I had already studied for a degree.
Up until this point, I had wrongly assumed that all apprenticeships were (a) for 16-19 years olds and I had long since missed the boat and (b) that all apprenticeships were low paid and there was no way I would be able to afford my living costs if I wanted to retrain – how wrong I was.
This completely changed my job hunt. Changing professions was not only possible but within my grasp. Suddenly, the prospect of working long shifts in a windowless kitchen began to seem less and less attractive. I baulked at the idea of going back to a job where my options for development were limited and a negative impact on my overall wellbeing was almost guaranteed. I didn’t want to become burnt out and I knew, despite pay rises across the industry, I couldn’t be tempted back – even for more money.
Fairly quickly I found myself looking at Software Testing Apprentice positions around the city. Many of the roles sought a keen eye for detail and excellent communication skills, qualities I had honed whilst working in kitchens. Though I lacked a technical background, it seemed like a switch from one discipline to the other could work quite naturally, given the pool of shared skills.
I applied for a job at Pragmatic Digital and two weeks later my software testing journey began. It turns out a move from hospitality is quite common – two others of our nine-strong team also came from a cheffing background, which immediately put me at ease. Within days I was already working on projects with the rest of the team and being introduced to the tools we use and how and why we use them. I started using my free time to Google all these new terms I was hearing and began to relish facing new problems.
As for the apprenticeship side of my new role, I was enrolled with The Coders Guild, a Leeds’ based digital skills provider. From the outset, The Coders Guild was immensely supportive in getting me settled into the course and on with my learning – which has continued to this day.
My cohort is a diverse group of learners, all united in our new career paths. Some have post-graduate degrees, others families – some both. It was clear to me from day one that I wasn’t alone in my desire to strike out anew in tech and I was in good company.
Though it took me a few weeks to get used to, I soon fell into the rhythm of office life. I am grateful for the structure of my week and being home at a reasonable hour – two things I never had whilst working as a chef. Weekends felt alien to me at first, as I was used to them being my busiest days, but I soon got into the swing of them – bank holidays were another matter entirely!
Whilst I am only four months into my new career and apprenticeship course, I have already learnt so much and every day presents new challenges and opportunities for growth. I cannot overstate the value of learning on the job, with time allocated for study and the support of both my employer, Pragmatic Digital and The Coders Guild. I look forward to a fruitful and exciting career in the digital sector.
Thom Foster
QA Apprentice