After graduating from Cambridge university Engineering, I have had a varied career as a self-taught software engineer. I have often been the ignorant newcomer in many environments, and I understand the struggle. But I also understand the joy of finally grasping a confusing concept. I'm now looking to bring those experiences, along with my logical problem-solving mindset, to tutoring.

Explaining things to others has been a recurring part of my life. I helped classmates during school and A-Levels, and my desire to help fix things has inevitably secured my role as family technical support. I still keep myself on my toes by volunteering with a local digital inclusion charity, with their public "digital drop-ins" and dedicated IT skills for adult English learners.

I try my best to be friendly, straight-forward and patient as tutor, but not inflexible. I'm comfortable working with students who want to strengthen their foundations, develop a deeper general subject understanding, work on specific projects/interests, or prepare for exams (although I am not an exam board specific expert yet). If you are interesting in another STEM subject or level that isn't displayed, please drop me a message and we'll see what we can do!

I am new to formal tutoring, I have not worked as a professional teacher or tutor before. However, I bring substantial informal experience and a genuine enthusiasm to help and empower. My informal teaching experience has been consistent throughout my schooling and career. While helping my classmates during GCSEs and A Levels, I rephrased concepts, stepped through tricky problems, and helped bridge the gap between them. From this I learnt that simply a change in perspective or phrasing can sometimes be enough.

I have been a professional software engineer in a variety of domains, across various fields of research, robotics, AI, Rail and legacy software. I have needed to document and explain my ideas to a wide range of technical and non-technical colleagues and external partners. This has honed my perception and adaptability to meet people at a comfortable level of familiarity, and pitching myself appropriately. The wrong level of detail, ordering of information, motivation or even starting point can put people off and impede understanding. I have also been a learner in this situation myself, picking up how to effectively communicate new ideas.

I currently volunteer with digital inclusion charity Power to Connect, at both public "digital drop-ins" and basic IT skill courses for refugees. I have had to manage solving new niche problems in real time, actively listening and clarifying to make sure the student and I are on the same page. Once we understand each other, we can diagnose what the actual problem is without getting trapped in our own assumptions. With refugees, there is often also a language barrier as well as a lack of confidence, so I need to communicate extremely clearly while making them feel at ease. I manage these problems without any preparation, and then provide a condensed and relevant explanation on the spot. It has greatly improved my ability to inspire confidence in myself and others when we face something unknown together, and my patience. Working through an exam paper or curriculum, I would be ready and prepared for many problems that might come up.

My deliberate move to formal tutoring now is because I enjoy this kind of work, and I can bring my analytical and communication skills to bear from my software career and volunteering.

Tutoring should be tailored to the individual, rather than trying to enforce a specific student ideal. I believe anyone can follow through a logical sequence, but not necessarily on the first try. I endeavour to meet students where they are, and to try and provide the support that they need to understand the material and thrive. Some might have problems applying theory to questions, others might need a stronger grasp of the principles rather than process, they may need a different perspective on a topic, or just simply a environment to feel safe asking "stupid" questions. I am pragmatic, and I am happy to try anything that helps.

I start with discovering what are the issues the student needs help with, even if it just confidence with new topics, or sitting with the discomfort of confusion. Then we would decide goals and a rough plan together, potentially also with the responsible adult, and I would learn how best to be an encouraging and trusted learning aide for the student. I would emphasise looking through mistakes and problem solving from a place of understanding, to promote internalised knowledge and skills the student can apply elsewhere. I may even ask them to talk me through some questions, to solidify ideas and discover blind spots.

My personal goal with all students is for the student to have the tools to tackle new, potentially intimidating topics, and confidence with their course material. My professional background has given me extensive experience of tackling large, intimidating and unfamiliar problems. I hope by the end of our time together, the students would understand that everything is composed of manageable pieces, and they have the tools to pick them apart.