School, uni, job, promotion, promotion, promotion, retire.
What they don’t teach you in school is that this is not the usual order of things. If anything, it’s rare.
Much more common is barrier, false start, rethink, regroup, and change of direction.
Indeed, finding your way by the circuitous rather than the linear is often the most valuable path.
Let’s call it… the scenic route.
“Computers was my best subject in school but I was a bit of a ‘messer’ for a while,” says Cranmore software developer Michael Shorten. “After my GCSEs, I was left with two options – go down the music route or the computer route.”
A trained singer, Michael had performed for Charles and Camilla, was part of a successful musical theatre troupe, played the Waterfront more than once. The future looked set.
But then that route closed. A rethink was needed.
“I got rejected by the music school and ended up in Belfast MET after I left school,” he tells us.
So it would be the scenic route for Michael, yet a route with unexpected benefits.
“I had felt a bit lost before going to the college,” he says. “But they seemed to put things more clearly. My tutors were more heavily focused on me. It’s not a route for everyone but it worked for me.”
At Belfast MET, Michael found the ability to focus. Supportive tutors gave him the space and encouragement he needed. His messer days were over.
I’ve definitely found my niche with Dynamics and I know I can have a pretty big impact on those kinds of projects.
Michael Shorten
The route would journey him to a software engineering degree at Queen’s. He had been looking for jobs while preparing his dissertation and he had almost given up when he applied to Cranmore.
“I almost didn’t turn up for the interview,” he says. “I was going to forget the whole thing to focus on my dissertation.”
And his role in Cranmore too would mark a new direction.
“I recently completed the Microsoft PL 400 and 600 certificates, and I plan to do more,” he says. “I now have a specialism in developing for the Microsoft Dataverse ecosystem and I’ve learned a lot from projects where we’ve delivered Dynamics for big clients.
“I’ve definitely found my niche with Dynamics and I know I can have a pretty big impact on those kinds of projects.”
The days of feeling lost are far behind. Today, he feels focused.
“I just keep on driving forward,” he says. “Now it’s just about getting as many qualifications as I can, making myself more competitive, building up my skills through the Microsoft pathway.”
Ultimately, the destination really doesn’t matter as, by the time you get there, it’s over.
What really matters is the value of the journey itself.
And, so, we ask Michael about his plans. He shrugs, but he is sure of something. “I’m very ambitious,” he says.
