Careers
Claire Pech – Careers Advisor
Spotlight on the Tech industry
This week I decided to interview a Tech Startup Founder to explore more on how he got to his current position:
Daniel Brockwell, Product Manager at Atlassian and EarlyWork Co-Founder, Alumnus, Class of 2015.
Daniel Brockwell
Your LinkedIn profile says you studied Computer Science and Marketing – was this a good choice for you?
I started to study Finance and Biology, and I then transferred my majors three times. University is like a ‘choose your own adventure book’. There is a big shift from being at school – on a oneway path, which is nice and rigid. Then you go to university and there is much more flexibility. You control your learning journey. That is the big difference. I changed degrees. I was doing Economics and Science and I am glad I followed that path. It was a good place to start when I wasn’t too sure. But I found I got much more exposure to the startup scene and exposure to consultancy work.
Computer Science taught me how to build and how to solve problems. Marketing taught me how to communicate solutions. My approach is human-first then tech-second. You are at a very competitive advantage when you have software engineering skills mixed with good people skills.
For each degree what was the best skill you learned?
From my Computer Science degree it was structured problem solving. Learning about the paradigm of how to break down problems. In my marketing degree, it was learning how to work with people who thought differently to me. This is a great skill to acquire.
What made you choose that course and university?
For me the most important decision was the social cohort. UNSW has the top Computer Science degree in the country. The founders of Atlassian studied Computer Science at UNSW, and Atlassian hires directly from UNSW for that very reason. People know the brand. Co-Op Scholarships run here which sets them apart. The Business School has a very strong reputation. It would help for students to think about the degree (faculty) they are going into and the reputation for that degree in itself, not just the whole university.
Are you happy with that choice? What else were you choosing?
I was not that happy with Commerce overall. I did meet some good people. It is a safe path to learn about the world and Computer Science and Arts, would have been a great combination for me. I underestimated the power of an Arts degree, learning how to write, how to think, how to critically analyse etc. Arts would have been a great balance with writing and curiosity about the world. The best unit I have studied at university was Business Ethics, a Philosophy course, whilst on exchange at Virginia University. It really challenged my thinking.
Tell me a bit about EarlyWork?
At university, a lot more time was spent on internships then me studying to get good grades. I found I wanted to learn more
working at a startup rather than through university work. I asked for opportunities. I learnt a lot, in fast paced environments. I rejected the Deloitte Graduate job offer that I got, over a great start-up job that was way more interesting. The pay was similar but I knew I would learn a lot more. I also then got the graduate offer at Atlassian. Lots of friends were asking about how to get internships especially within the tech and start-up space. I started helping friends, doing research for them, and finding internships and graduate roles just in Sydney. I put them in a newsletter and started sending it out to friends. I then started to share lessons, capturing stories, interviewing people in startups. I then asked a colleague to collaborate. I then started interview coaching and helping students get roles. Build a customer before you build a product. Provide the content for free….. and then you can start charging for it.
How is this new start-up going now?
It is very exciting times. We are building the home for the careers of tomorrow. It is for tech startups and social impact companies. We have four pillars within EarlyWork:
- Newsletters (free resources) to 1500 people within Australia.
- Slack community – online community and forum, pitch nights, monthly catch ups, master classes etc
- Gigs by EarlyWork – dedicated jobs board around the jobs of tomorrow
- Search engine for talent pool
Is EarlyWork a sideline – or do you feel this is your main gig?
I am working on Atlassian by day, on a two year contract and my sideline EarlyWork on the side. But who knows where that is going to go.
Are you a wanna-be careers advisor, or what is your purpose with Earlywork – the business side or the people-careers side?
I am playing in both arenas. We believe that every young person should find meaning in the work that they do and make a positive dent on the planet.
It looks like you have worked at Uber, Amazon, Atlassian – a very impressive line up – how did you score these gigs? My first internship was via an email request. Who am I? Why am I reaching out? What is in for them? This is the Who, Why, What principal of looking for work. Here is more information about this.
What advice would you give back to your former Year 12 self?
It’s ok to pivot (move, change paths). It is almost dangerous to just try just one path. Explore. Most importantly – try lots. There is so much to explore out there. Test more stuff. Find out more. Explore more data points.
What advice would you give to our Current Year 12 group? (who have had it pretty tough in 2021)
Having a very high ATAR can be useful for scholarships. But very quickly the value of your ATAR is replaced by university grades, involvement, interests, extra-curricular activities and skills. I have a friend who got an ATAR in the 60s. He then went on to study Pure Maths and Computer Science at university and is now achieving HD’s (A grades) and now working at a tech startup. My advice would be:
- Build an online digital presence early as soon as you can. Find things you are interested in now. Create your content now.
- It’s not about who you know. It’s not about what you know. It’s about you knows you.
What skills do you feel Emanuel set you up with for your career now?
Intellectual curiosity. Keeping an open mind to the world and being interested in a lot of different things.
Each school subject has helped:
- Legal studies helped me understand how society operates
- English has helped me writing essays and I now write every day
- Economics taught me how markets work
- Geography with the importance of keeping this earth in a good state
- Biology reminds us of the beauty of life and how it arises
- Maths was very helpful for Computer Science etc. Emanuel exposed me to different ways of thinking.
Also my social cohort at Emanuel – we were great friends and still are. There is a real diversity of thinkers which is unusual for a small school. I now have friends who all think differently.
Thanks so much Dan for sharing your insights with us!
For those who would like to ready more the EarlyWork newsletter has some fascinating content.