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Marcus Sanatan is a software developer and creative coder, who has worked with some local and international tech companies. This University of Edinburgh graduate who majored in Artificial Intelligence, shares with us, his love affair with tech, his experiences with various companies and what he thinks young IT enthusiasts should do to live their dreams

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As the last of three children, I was always the baby in the family. Of all the children, I was the only one who liked maths, science and tech. Essentially, I was the white sheep in my black family. And that was fine. Mummy always looked for opportunities that would let me work with computers more. She and Daddy helped me dream big, they showed me that the world had a lot to offer and the work we do right here at home, can impact it. 

I also remember having a library in my house and reading a lot of books. I also had a computer and internet access when I was about five years old, or  maybe earlier. At the time, that was pretty rare. But this is not something I ever undervalued. Tinkering with computers and playing games pretty much gave me my entire career. 

While in primary school, I went to a coding camp that taught us how to make basic websites with HTML and CSS. I enjoyed making websites but didn’t practise a lot when school started back. It’s there I first played Megaman X, an action game with a sentient robot blasting his way through hard levels. Robots, AI, a bunch of lasers – I loved it! That game gave me a wild imagination about what the future can be with tech, and that’s what got me into my career today.

My teachers in the school system have also been quite instrumental. Particularly those in secondary school – Bishop Anstey and Trinity College East (BATCE). My IT teachers were amazing – Mr. Laban, Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Valdez. I also remember Mrs. Ramkissoon who pulled me aside from class one day when I was heckled by classmates for knowing too many answers. I don’t have enough time to list them all or explain their full impact on my life but they coached me in my studies, gave me confidence, pushed me to aim high, and made me a well rounded human being.

Adding value to people

Since graduating, I have had the pleasure to work with a few tech companies, the former Ministry of Science and Technology (circa 2015), DIGICEL, Wepala and others. These were great experiences which provided some notable highs, one of  which is seeing things you make, being used by people. At Digicel, I helped to create some of the most popular prepaid plans at the time. At Wepala, I created applications that process 1 million financial transactions in a month, and helped bring some apps to the Android and iOS stores. Adding value to people and getting their positive feedback is golden.

We have quite a few tech savvy people in our region. I really wish our governments were aggressively proactive about digitalisation before the pandemic. Quite frankly, I’m not sure why there’s a lack of drive to improve our processes. That said, I’m not deterred. We have a lot of good ingredients in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly right now for tech: tax-free imports, relatively cheap internet options, expanding options to study tech in schools and more. It’s fertile ground. I think we need dedicated spaces where people can share the cool things they work on. You’d be surprised at the awesome things created in T&T – it may even be inspiring.

Choose companies that offer opportunities for growth

I recently started working at Remio, a VR company, based in the US. It’s similar to my previous roles. Here, I work on web apps like dashboards and make them functional, I automate things, and I write good code! I’m currently getting into some video game networking for multiplayer games. It’s really new, but so far, a lot of fun.

For the typical software development graduate, it’s hard to know where to get experience. Things have improved since I first started but software development jobs are generally uncommon. Even if they do get one, what kind of career would they have? I was fortunate to work for Wepala. They were always on the cutting edge regarding technology, and they had clear career paths for developers. I was able to show my growth with various roles, responsibilities and titles throughout my time with the company. For someone now coming into it, it is important to ask the company about the career path and the possibilities. It is therefore critical to choose opportunities that offer growth. Also, if you have free time, spend some of it learning new technological skills. Developing yourself and sharing your progress are the best ways to get known in our industry.

Developing that work-life balance and seizing opportunities

It’s strange to admit this but the pandemic worked out really well for me. Yes, millions have died and those of us still alive are facing a worse economic situation. For me, however, being at home meant a lot more family time. Career wise, since many companies in other countries went fully remote as well, I became flooded with new opportunities. Tech is centre stage more than before and the market is there for those who use it to create.

Even with all the opportunities available, it is important to find that work-life balance. This is an issue for the modern professional – we’re expected to work all the time. Constant messages, requests and expectations at the end of the day or after you’ve left. Employers from top to bottom expect robots instead of humans. I believe that I am pretty good at what I do, and do you know what the reward for a good worker is? More work!

I always have to fight to set boundaries. My father died from a heart attack, we don’t know when our time will come. If you died right now, do you want your legacy to be that you were a good worker? I would rather be remembered as a good husband, son, brother and friend. Find that balance today and stick to it!

Inspiration

I’ve looked up to different people at my different jobs. In my first job, I really liked my knowledgeable coworker, Simeon Wu-Kwai. At Digicel, I’ve looked up to my coworker Lyndon, and my direct supervisors – Wakeel, Laura and Aneel. As a developer, I have looked up to Akeem at Wepala, I learned a ton from him. Wepala’s team was pretty high calibre: Francis and Lyn were awesome too. I’m lucky, the people I look up to are also friends. 

I’ve been identified as a role model for younger black men quite a lot in life. And I don’t take those moments lightly. However, the pedestals I’m put on are perpetually filled with other tertiary school educated, scholarship winning, standard English using, Sunday church speaking, black men. I think as a community, as we acknowledge the variety of black experiences, we should empower and promote a variety of role models for our youth.

For some years, I have been working with Click To Start, an NGO that teaches the elderly how to use tech and teaches youth in underserved communities how to program. By bridging the digital divide and empowering new creators, this NGO does amazing things with groups of people who may be  typically left out of the equation. I have also created and currently host Jammin, a game jam (hackathons for video games) where participants build something completely new around a specific theme. Over the past three years, Jammin has produced over  15 new games from Caribbean people. You can see some of what they have done, you can check: https://youtu.be/fiCOIeDXIrg or https://youtu.be/YEp9eQ2lAh0 .