Shirley May

Where You Live: Brighton
Company: Mirame ltd
Job Title: Database Developer/Web Programmer

Describe your job/role?
All of my days are quite different. I mostly work from my home office, where I do web and database programming. I work one day a week for a children's charity in Brighton, programming and managing their IT setup. I also do a day a week in Lewes for a natural health organisation, managing their website and e-commerce applications.

The work I do from home involves visiting clients, observing their systems and assessing their requirements. I am out and about quite a lot at meetings and interviews. Then I build the database or website - basically whatever is required.

What is the best thing about your job?
The best thing is the creativity. When you sit down and paint a picture, for example, you get really engrossed and programming is that kind of thing. I don't really think people realise how creative programming actually is. It is just like writing a story or painting a picture but it is much more technical and you have to be much more precise.

What attracted you to it?
I used to be a language teacher and I started using computers in my teaching because they were interesting. I heard of an MSc course in Brighton in Information Systems, which I later attended.

What schools did you go to and what subjects did you take?
I went to Devonport High School for Girls in Plymouth, where I did my GCSEs.

What was your favourite subject and why?
English Literature was my favourite subject. When I was younger, I always used to read a lot.

Did you go to University / College and if so what did you study?
Yes I went to university and studied philosophy.

What was your first job?
My first full-time job was as a typist in a Plymouth typing pool. My very first job was selling jumpers in Littlewoods.

What does your career path look like?
I moved from Plymouth to London, where I temped for a couple of years. Then I worked as a secretary for a Sales Director in Croydon. Later, I moved to Brighton where I worked in the voluntary sector for a couple of years. After that, I worked at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex for three or four years. Then I went to Barcelona and taught English but after five years I came to Brighton and did the MSc course.

I really enjoyed teaching English and Barcelona was good fun but in the end, the only thing I could develop was my teaching method, so I decided to do the computer course in Brighton. I have been self-employed ever since.

Which women have inspired and influenced your career?
I admire independent women such as Mo Mowlam. There aren't any women in the computer industry that I know about and admire, though I do like Willow in Buffy - she's a computer expert and a wonderful person, too.

What would you say is your strongest attribute/s?
I am very thorough and I like a challenge.

What do you think is the most exciting/interesting thing about working in the digital media industry?
Leaning new things, meeting new people and being able to be very creative.

What advice would you give to people who consider entering the digital media industry?
Give it a go! And don't listen to people who say you are a geek.