Seven months ago, I was fortunate to start a new career journey with Pythian. At first I found working in IT intimidating as I was working with such a wide variety of technical subject matter experts on a daily basis, however it wasn’t long until I started connecting with some of the best female consultants, database administrators, and team managers here at Pythian.
Working with such a diverse field of experts here at Pythian, makes me feel empowered, and inspires me to continue my learning and career in the IT field. The diversity and inclusion at Pythian has allowed me to let go of all the doubts I had, boosted my confidence and re-triggered my dream of pursuing a technical career. The women and men I work with at Pythian are the reason my dreams are alive again! During my first month at Pythian, I decided to start using my Personal Development Benefits towards my ITIL certificate which I am happy to say is now in full swing! Every day I take small steps to advance my my technical career with the support of my team and colleagues here at Pythian.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a “Diversity in Engineering and Technology” networking night held at the University of Carleton, representing Pythian. The event was designed to connect employers who are interested in a diverse and inclusive workforce with students from a range of under-represented groups studying Engineering, IT and Computer Science. It was an exciting opportunity to promote the diversity we experience here at Pythian and demonstrate to new graduates what a diverse culture looks like. New graduates can benefit from seeing what a diverse work culture looks like and the incredible opportunities waiting for them!
Pythian at the Diversity in Technology and Engineering event
It was an exciting event for me, as I had the chance to meet a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds. I had the pleasure of talking to a student who is finishing up her fourth year in Neuroscience, only to realize that she is interested in computer science after an elective she took. This showed me yet again that even though you may have started in a specific field, you may take that one course that inspires you to move in a different direction. This student is now signed up for a degree in computer science starting in the New Year. I saw my young self in her and it brought to light that most girls are potentially going through this. I encouraged her throughout our conversation and told her about my personal experience of moving into the IT field.I was extremely touched when she thanked me for the advice. After this conversation, I knew exactly why I was attending this event: to share my story about perseverance and the importance of diversity in all facets of your life.
To further reiterate my sentiment, the keynote speaker Sashieka Seneviratne, a Hardware Design Engineer, and inspiring woman from Ericsson gave a very moving talk. She said “No one can define your potential; try and fail, cultivate a growth mindset, one open to failure and learning as it is the biggest barrier to diversity and inclusion.” Her speech was a great reminder to me that we may all fail at making the right decision sometimes but it should not stop us from pursuing a career we’re passionate about. Everyone who listened to her speech was captivated and realized that we are not alone in our continued search for finding our passion, and should not give in to feelings of rejection and self-doubt.
I left the event motivated and inspired with a very important message to all underrepresented groups out there: that if you are feeling the same as you wade into the exciting but stressful waters of the technology world, always remember that if you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.
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