Skip to main content
entrepreneur series

The Entrepreneur Series: Ross Carrick, Associate Software Consultant

How Ross Carrick found a job he loved, and now, never works a day in his life.

Ross Carrick grew up in Jarrow, in the North East of England. Incredibly active in his local community, Ross earned his black belt in jujitsu at age 12 and played for his local school’s football team. At age 17, he began working in construction, alongside his father and two brothers. During which time, Ross became “hooked on problem solving” and the “math involved” in his daily work. 

Ross’s previous job at the Newcastle University’s Urban Sciences Building

Every day, “we installed walls and ceilings and got paid on a square meter basis; there was quite a lot of math involved with it.” Ross worked with a number of different materials, tools, area measurements, and material pricing; he also had to manually track the hours he worked. “We got paid weekly, not monthly, and it would take me unnecessary hours to track time every week, so I wanted to build a complex time-tracking spreadsheet to automate the process.” At first, Ross was mainly trying to simplify this process, but overtime, he began diving into books about software engineering, which would eventually lead him to his newfound passion, software development. 

After hanging up his steel-capped boots and construction gear, Ross began his academic career at Newcastle College as a part-time student, while also starting a family of his own. “It was tough, but I knew if I wanted to pursue a career in tech, I needed to give myself a good grounding. The course gave me that.” It was during his time with Newcastle College that Ross became aware of a job opening with Saggezza. “Saggezza advertised for a graduate-level appointment”, explains Ross. “I attended one of the company’s open days to find out more about it, and was told by the team that they would be open to looking at my CV. I thought, ‘This is the kind of company I would like to work for.’ A company that treats people as individuals – that recognizes that everyone is different, and that they’re more than just a qualification.”

Sunderland Office Summer Outing

“I knew a career in software would challenge me and keep me excited every day.”

In July 2018, Ross began his professional career in software development at Saggezza. He was first set up in a training program to ensure he had the skills to succeed in tech “The training I received up front was better than any training I have had. I felt ready to begin my role and could see the progress I made already, which is fantastic after a relatively short amount of time.” Just a few weeks after joining the company, Ross was already put on his first real project. “I worked on a campaign for a global fashion brand, which is pretty exciting, and was able to do the developer side of the job as well as the client liaison. You’re really trusted to get on with things and that’s something I really enjoy. It’s a really open environment. Our manager stops by often and chats, and the company is receptive to hearing ideas and putting them in place if they will improve the business. My wife even says she can see a big difference in me!” 

Ross and his son, Lucas

“I was really grateful Saggezza recognized just how eager I was to make the move into software. I don’t think many – or any – other businesses would have given me that opportunity.”

Today, Ross’s wife just gave birth to their second child, a daughter. “I have a 19 month old son and my wife had our baby in February.” For Ross, being a father means supporting and encouraging his children, and others as well, to always follow their passions. Ross has been working at the Saggezza Sunderland office on an internal project for a multinational investment bank client. Ross and his team members are responsible for the design and development of a web application for the client. “I feel so privileged to be getting paid for doing something I love. I liked my old job, but I felt it no longer challenged me. Despite that, I carried on and had no real plans to move on.” His advice to anyone looking for a career change or wanting to try something new is to “first ask yourself the reason behind why you want to do it. For example, today it’s trendy to be a software engineer, but if you’re just learning for the sake of money, it won’t get you very far. You have to love what you’re doing to succeed. Now, there’s new technology being introduced every day and I truly want to fill the gaps with what I don’t know by building a foundational knowledge to provide as much value as I can to our clients.”

Continue the Saggezza Entrepreneur Series with Nick Daly here.

Want to learn more about Saggezza? Consult with an expert here.

Saggezza is a proven technology and consulting partner that delivers personalized, high-value solutions to accelerate business growth.

Share This
Related Articles
What does a data scientist do? We talked to one to learn about this popular and lucrative field

December 2, 2019 By Scott Matteson, Tech Republic Learn insights from a data scientist about what it’s like to work […]

A Day in the Life of Richard, UX Practice Manager

Learn more about Richard here.