Inspirational Teacher Interviews – At Did Teach, we love hearing about teachers’ lived experiences, from the classroom to their new ventures.

We are always learning and adapting and these new blogs aim to inspire and give direction.

We caught up with former teacher Ashish Sharma from Multiverse, read about his journey here:

What’s Your Background In Teaching?

Maths teacher, I worked in a sixth form college environment for nearly a decade, starting as a Trainee teacher and then progressing to Head of Department. I now work as a Data Fellowship Coach at a tech unicorn startup called Multiverse, delivering data skills to apprentices and coaching them through their apprenticeship.

Why Did You Decide To Embark On A New Career?

As much as I enjoyed teaching at that level I felt like I was stagnating personally in my skill set, so I picked up coding in 2021 and started with Python. This led to me adding new skills and becoming a Data Fellowship Coach at Multiverse.

What Barriers Did You Face?

Time, fitting in study around full-time work commitments and family meant I was studying at night or in holidays to try and become better at coding. I am still nowhere near an expert but I am learning on the job too!

How Have Your Teaching Skills Helped You?

Immensely- I felt the ability to relate to people, plan and execute a delivery and speak with confidence to a group of people have been useful in my current role. My management experience has helped me in terms of tracking apprentices over time.

What New Skills Have You Developed?

I have developed immensely in my near 4 months in the role- developing lots of new languages like SQL and improving my Excel skills as well as understanding theoretical machine learning models. I feel I have developed a coach mindset which will be of benefit for the future.

What Do You Relish About Your New Role?

Growth opportunities, learning from my apprentices and getting real life experiences outside of education. It is a tough job as it’s a startup growing massively but I get a sense of being in an exciting space.

Who Has Inspired You On Your Career Journey?

My ex-colleague who was an ex Head of Computer Science- she pivoted out to work in IT and I felt I could do the same. Though my role is not a pure data role it does combine the best of both, learning about tech and people interaction.

What Are Your 3 Top Pieces Of Advice For Someone Wanting To Do Something Similar?

1) Show evidence of constant self development (courses, certificates, projects)

2) If you are interested in coding- start easy and free! So much is available…and get through the mental hurdles with a growth mindset.

3) Make a plan of action, get in touch with people on Linkedin and think about how you will get from x to y in a timeframe.

Ashish Sharma

Former Maths Teacher and Head of Department now Data Fellowship Coach at Multiverse

You can follow Ashish on LinkedIn: Ashish Sharma

Great EdTech roles can be found on our Job Board

Thank you Ashish for contributing to our Teacher Interviews, if you would like to write for us, we are always looking for stories to inspire teachers: Write for Did Teach