Tabby began her tech career following the completion of an undergraduate BA in Politics and English Literature, having previously self-taught CSS and HTML at the age of 13, by completing an MSc in Computer Science.
During the qualification she experienced a life-threatening condition that meant two years of rehabilitation (including learning to walk) and the postponement of her MSc. Despite hospitalisation and prolonged treatment, she recommenced her studies, including attending and presenting her research at the Lovelace Colloquium (wheelchair and carer in-tow!), achieving a Distinction grade. Her HCI research, on accessibility and self-management technology for ME/CFS, has been published globally.
She has previously worked in a computer hardware company, building bespoke computers and managing website development. In March, she began a position at SaaS startup ‘PayFit’ as a Software Engineer. However due to the ‘COVID effect’ many roles were made redundant, including her own. Despite this, she applied for, and was granted, a fully funded Codecademy scholarship and pushed herself to upskill quickly, prompting the creation of a COVID themed game and personal website, all alongside her final weeks at PayFit and interviewing for new roles. Excitingly, she obtained an offer from gaming company Zynga (working in the London Natural Motion office) as a Software Engineer. Since commencing the role, she has become actively involved in WAZ (Woman at Zynga) and has coded tools that will be used by all company games teams in releasing their games to storefronts. She has been a NWERC and IET IOC LEGO volunteer, participated in hackathons and has run coding classes at her local library. Long-term, she plans to continue being actively involved in, and attending, events, both women-centred and in the wider technology field, and in the promotion and assistance of WIT education in schools and career fields. She is keen to become a mentor and participate in conferences at an interviewee or speaker.
