CODING JOB IS WRITE FOR ME
CODING and IT jobs are still male-dominated but more women are realising there are great careers to be had in the techie world.
Ashruti Rajesh, 22, from Leicester, always thought breaking into tech would be daunting, but when she found a data bootcamp led by Code First Girls, sponsored by BT, her path was set.
What are you doing?
I’m a data analyst at BT. I graduated from university last year having studied English literature, and to be honest, I would never have imagined myself starting a career in tech.
Working in data and artificial intelligence is really exciting. On a daily basis I work with large sets of data to find insights and interesting patterns.
This is done in an agile way, where I complete tasks in sprints that last about two weeks at a time. I attend daily stand-ups – or meetings – to check in on progress.
I do this with other data analysts and data scientists, working with our great roster of partners to code and analyse data sets, complete data-quality assessments and conduct exploratory data analysis.
This includes visualising your findings on bar charts and graphs, which I really enjoy.
What do you love about the job?
I started at BT in February and everyone I’ve met so far has been super warm and welcoming, and willing to share their expertise.
It makes the work a lot easier, especially when you’re new to the industry and need a bit of support along the way.
Working with data every day can be really fun, particularly if you have an eye for detail and enjoy analysing things.
It kind of reminds me of English literature, through the way you interpret and analyse texts to find meaning in them.
It’s similar here, but different in the sense that you’re not just working with words, but numbers and code too.
However, one of the most challenging parts has to be when there are many errors in your code, which can sometimes take a long time to fix and figure out.
Or when you have to wait for data sets to be uploaded on to the system, which can be difficult when working to tight deadlines. But everything comes with challenges!
How did you end up in this techie world?
I had always admired technology at a distance and it was only as I was finishing my degree I realised that my passion for English lit was just that, a passion, and I wasn’t interested in going down the traditional career routes of journalism or publishing.
Before I realised that I wanted to work in technology, I took part in FastFutures, an online programme which gives young people insight into the working world. It gave me exposure to what working in data would look like.
Soon after, I discovered that Code First Girls was offering funded bootcamps, or Nanodegrees, to help women upskill in data and coding.
I signed up and was fortunate to get a place sponsored by BT.
I completed the three-month course and was then offered a BT job. The training at work has been an extension of what I learnt in the Nanodegree, with a mix of training and learning on the job.
I’m not going to lie, it has been challenging! Going from writing 4,000-word essays to writing scripts of code has its difficulties.
Did you think women can be put off careers like this?
For a lot of people, and for me, breaking into tech has always seemed impossible. At a glance, the tech space seems to be reserved for computer science graduates or, to be frank, men.
Undoubtedly, tech is a very male-dominated industry, but it doesn’t have to be.
From my time at BT I’ve found that there is so much room for not only women, but anyone else who shares an interest in the industry.
There are people at BT who have switched careers at age 40, people who don’t have a degree but are self-taught in skills like coding, and multiple women who are incredibly passionate about not just progressing their careers in tech, but making it a space where it’s accessible for everyone.
Recently I’ve joined a group of women, also former Code First Girl Nanodegree graduates, who have switched to the tech industry and strive to help others upskill to follow the same path.
They’ve created a space called Inclusive.Code on Instagram, and stuff like this really is the future of “not leaving women behind”.
‘‘ I took part in FastFutures, which is online and gives insight into work
Contacts
Code First Girls: codefirstgirls.com
BT jobs: bt.com/careers
FastFutures: fastfutures. avadolearning.com