April | Double bill – Transferable Skills and Burnout

This month we’ve got two great speakers for two not-so-technical talks about Transferable Skills and Burnout (see details further down).

As usual the event will be hybrid, meaning you can either join in person or online:

The in-person event will take place at Runway East in Brighton from 6:30 pm (talk at 7 pm). There will be food and drinks courtesy of Runway East and Tillo – come have a chat before the talk!

Online participants can join the live stream from 7 pm.

Range: The Power of Transferable Skills

Our first speaker is Darren Arbon, a Senior Software Engineer at Technology from Sage. Before that, Darren was a secondary school science teacher, and before that, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sussex. How did he successfully transition between these different careers?

It’s all about transferable skills, which is the subject of Darren’s talk:

"This presentation highlights the critical role of transferable skills in career transitions and workplace success. Drawing from my experience of transitioning between three distinct careers—scientist, teacher, and software engineer.

I’ll demonstrate how identifying and leveraging these skills can give jobseekers a competitive edge, encourage recruiters to adopt a broader perspective, and help employees unlock hidden potential within their roles. By embracing the value of adaptability and transferable skills, we can foster growth and resilience in today’s dynamic job market."

Fear the Walking Dead: Burnout Zombie to Recovery

Software Engineering is a dream job to many people, but it can also become all-consuming, to the point of emotional and mental exhaustion. How to recognise the signs that you may be burning out?

Christopher Miller, Lead Product Engineer at Browserless and regular PHP Sussex speaker, will tell his story and share his experience as a recovered burned-out developer:

"This is the story of how as a developer I became burned out, and how I recovered from that and put things in place to ensure I don't become burned out again, focusing on the damage caused to me – and to others – whilst I was in that place. It will be humorous, but with a serious edge. It will also highlight the fact that PHP never lost its edge for me as a developer, and how it actually played a part in me recovering from burnout."

This should be a very interesting night indeed, so be sure to sign up and join us at Runway East or online on Wednesday, 9 April.

Big thanks to Silicon Brighton, Tillo and Runway East for their support.

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