CodeRefinery - my pathway into Research Software Engineering
The CodeRefinery project has been teaching FAIR research software development practices since 2016. My part in this started when I joined a CodeRefinery workshop at my university in 2018. I was fascinated by all the topics taught in the workshop: Version control, documentation, reproducible workflows, modular code development, social coding and automatic testing among others.
One thing lead to another, and I went from a participant to a workshop helper and then became an instructor. Eventually I took on the role of a community manager for the project in 2024. Along the way I got to grow myself with the Carpentries instructor training as well as spreading the word about the project by talking about it in many different forums.
CodeRefinery taught me not only how I can refine my own code and make it more reusable by others, but also how to organize my own work better for myself. In addition I realized that through CodeRefinery I can help others by passing on what I have learned and open that pathway for others too.
With this presentation I would like to encourage everyone to be brave and explore communities that call to you. The Research Software Engineering (RSE) community will welcome you warmly and give guidance on your path to becoming an RSE, if that is what you wish to do.