By Phil Blything
I began my first grown up job in 1997, and the world looked very different to how it does today. That’s no surprise, it was 29 years ago! (I know I don't look old enough, cough).
The only modem in that office was on a physical FAX machine. You printed a letter, and walked over to that machine to send it.
I was fortunate that the internet boom was yet to happen. I got to tinker about, breaking new ground, making and launching their ecommerce website before Amazon had even turned a profit, and Google was just a blink in Larry and Sergei’s eye.
Today, such things are commonplace and the frontier has moved.
AI looms large.
It threatens and beckons with opportunity, although the extent of that balance remains to be seen.
In 1997, it was difficult to see around the corner too - it feels like we’re at a similar moment.
Today, I visited the students at Riverside College for ASPIRE WEEK, to talk to them about my career journey, how we started Glow and some of the adventures I've had on the way, and what careers in digital are actually like.
The students from Computing and Digital Technologies at Riverside have it all ahead of them and it's theirs for the taking, threat or opportunity.
Debbie Kennah, programme Leader for Digital and Computing kindly said: “…feedback has been incredible, everyone has said how engaging and inspiring it was…”
Whatever the future holds for our young workforce and newest coworkers, I wish them well and that they find more opportunity than threat.
