Epic Women in Tech — Sofia Paakko
I’m Sofia Paakko, a presales architect based in Buckinghamshire. I work for a large, global tech company in a customer-facing role, helping financial services customers with their digital transformation initiatives, particularly from a data storage perspective. I embarked on my journey to tech four years ago, and it’s the best decision I ever made.
How did you get into the tech field?
I was a little lost on what I wanted to do with my life after graduating with a music and musical theatre degree but having decided I didn’t wish to perform professionally. My customer service experience landed me a field sales role within the plumbing and heating industry, but this still didn’t feel like something I wanted to do long-term. My mum and my boyfriend at the time both worked as software developers and this got me thinking about the possibility of tech as a career. I had always been a keen learner and excelled academically, and the rapidly evolving technology landscape seemed to offer unlimited opportunities to learn and develop — the essentials for an interesting and fulfilling career. I decided to go ahead and apply for technology-related postgraduate courses that would accept my previous qualifications and ended up studying MSc Information Management (Business Analysis and Service Design) at Henley Business School in Reading.
What are the main challenges in this field?
The rapidly changing technology landscape is both exciting and challenging. It can leave you feeling a little out of your depth, and it’s just not possible to know everything.
What are the things you’ve learned being a woman in tech?
You need to be a bit tough because tech is still seen as a bit of a man’s world but I think that’s partly just in my head because quite honestly, I’ve never felt disadvantaged or judged because of my sex. Being a woman can actually help you stand out from the crowd in a good way and there are so many opportunities to drive positive change in the industry right now with just about every company focusing on diversity and inclusion initiatives.
What advice would you give to women who would like to join the industry?
Go for it. “Technology” isn’t just one job, it’s a whole (exciting) industry with lots of different roles and brilliant career prospects. Whether you are school-age and considering your career options or someone looking for a career change, if you have a passion for tech and a willingness to learn, there is a place for you.
Who are your role models?
It’s not a specific person, but I am always extremely inspired and energised by anyone with a real, evident passion for their field of work. I spent a good while finding my way in the world and I hope I can be this source of enthusiasm to others in the field of tech.
If you could go back in time to your first days in the industry, what would you do differently or tell yourself?
I would not compare myself to others so much but rather recognise my own strengths. I can be quite self-critical and I always really want to do my job well. In tech you can learn a lot by reading and studying, but I think experience is crucial to becoming a good techie, particularly in a customer-facing role like mine. I was comparing my skills and knowledge (or my perceived lack of) to those of people with ten or more years of experience in the industry and this would get me down.
If you are a founder or a member of a community for women in tech, can you introduce it?
I recently had the opportunity to volunteer as a coding trainer for Code First Girls, teaching basic HTML and CSS skills to young women who are new to coding. This was a fantastic experience which really enabled me to step out of my comfort zone and build confidence. They welcome volunteer trainers, and have a wide range of coding courses at different levels, specifically aimed at women wanting to get into coding/web development.
If either of these sounds like you, I would highly encourage you to check out CFG: https://codefirstgirls.org.uk/
