Welcome back to our Life at LetsGetChecked series, a sequence of features that offer insight into what it’s really like to work at LetsGetChecked.

This week, we speak with Andy Fitzgerald, a Junior Software Engineer at LetsGetChecked.

Working at LetsGetChecked is Andy’s first job as a graduate. He says he was drawn to LetsGetChecked because its fast-paced, tight-knit environment; “The potential is my favourite thing about working at LetsGetChecked. You can do so much in a short time frame, it all works so seamlessly and there is serious satisfaction that comes from bringing a project from start to finish.”

What is your role title?

I am a Junior Software Engineer here at LetsGetChecked. I’m involved in pretty much anything and everything software related.

How long have you worked at LetsGetChecked?

I’ve been working at LetsGetChecked for 6 months now, it feels a lot longer! I’m just out of college so this is my first software job.

What is your academic background?

I studied Computer Science in University College Dublin. I started in an Engineering degree, but switched to Computer Science once I realized that I wanted to go down the software engineering path.

What sparked your interest in Software Engineering?

I have always had an interest in computers. I used to play computer games as a kid. When I first started college, I thought I wanted to work in engineering. During my degree, there were a few computer science modules in my course and I was instantly addicted. From there, that’s what I knew I wanted to pursue. I have always found it quite interesting but I guess it wasn’t until I got started in college that I started really getting passionate about software engineering.

What prompted you to apply for a role at LetsGetChecked?

I wanted to learn a lot in my first job and so far that has worked out really well here.

I never wanted to go to a big corporate company. It just never appealed to me at all. I wanted to join a smaller company where you can be noticed. To me, a bigger company would have been intimidating. It’s more personal here and you get more responsibility.

You’re not just treated like a first year software intern at LetsGetChecked. You’re actually given responsibility which is great.

I like the fact that you’re thrown into the deep end. The amount of responsibility you take on for your first job is considerable. I think it was my third day working here when I saw my first code go into production which was really great.

What is your day-to-day at LetsGetChecked like?

We work together as a team and have daily stand-ups to talk through what we have been working on and the tasks we are going to work in the coming days.

I have worked on projects such as creating messages and emails for customers, fixing bugs and making edits to the dashboard to improve user experience.

My favourite project so far was creating reminder messages for customers to activate their test ahead of collecting their sample.

How have you found the Lunch and Learns held at LetsGetChecked?

I never worked with F# before coming to LetsGetChecked, I am enjoying the Lunch and Learn sessions by our Core Team Lead Paulo Nobre. They’re good because at the moment I do some lab administration.

All of the lab entries that have come through the lab portal are in F#. So far I have just been trying to piece it together because I’m still learning the language very well. The Lunch and Learns are helping with that.

Have you always been interested in health-tech?

I have always been interested in health-tech, when I was doing Engineering in college, I considered doing Biomedical Engineering before I decided to move to Computer Science.

All the tests are really useful I think and it’s very easy for us because we get handed them once a month. LetsGetChecked makes it much easier, I think it’s the way it’s going to go too. People will be less likely to go to the doctor and soon industries will offer “at-home everything” where you will be able to have a face-to-face with a doctor from home.

What health-tech trends have you been interested in most recently?

Bionic limbs! I have always found that sort of thing really interesting. Creating brand new body parts and the technology behind that's really something.

What is your favourite thing about working at LetsGetChecked?

The potential is my favourite thing about working at LetsGetChecked. You can do so much in a short time frame, it all works so seamlessly and there is serious satisfaction that comes from bringing a project from start to finish.

I like the pace and size of the company. It’s a fast-moving and tight knit. I enjoy the responsibility of it. It’s an emerging product and there’s a lot of excitement that comes with that.

What advice would you give to someone who is hoping to join the technical team at LetsGetChecked?

Just be prepared to take on a lot of responsibility, don’t be afraid to jump in!

It’s a very friendly environment, and it’s a very good environment to learn from. From my experience of starting here as a first job, it’s been a great opportunity to get stuck in.

What three personality traits would somebody need to have to thrive on the technology team at LetsGetChecked?

Analytical
Ambitious
Sense of humour

Written by Hannah Kingston