An introduction by way of a windy career path
When I was freshly out of college, I didn’t necessarily desire to be a company owner, president, chief executive, or officer. I was, however, really money-driven. I wanted whatever job would pay me enough to pay off my student loans quickly. I had a heightened need to be financially independent. I had a good work ethic. I worked hard (not smart), regardless of the job. This (working hard, not smart) persisted throughout my first 10 years of professional experience, and I sometimes forfeited experiences and mental health to be a “good worker”.
The first five years of my professional career were difficult because having two degrees in engineering and not actually working in an engineering role was heartbreaking. Eventually, I realized that the roles I did have, utilized a lot of my engineering skills. These roles tended to be data-heavy, have complex processes, and benefit from continuous improvement. Once I made peace with that heartbreak, work unfolded as a series of process and system problems that required improvement.
I realized that the roles I did have, utilized a lot of my engineering skills.
For most of my career, I worked in a large corporate culture that promoted from within, as many large companies like to do. This company also invested in developing soft skills while I fostered my subject matter expertise. Those opportunities were great for me. They were a mixture of sociology and psychology coursework condensed into workshop exercises.
But soon I also started to get pushed towards management roles and leadership programs. Some of my colleagues took advantage of those. While I was keen on learning, coaching, and improving, I was not interested in being a manager or having an executive role.
At some point, I had someone from HR ask me what executive role I could see myself in — and my answer was “None.” Her response was “Wow!”. Now, I know there is much to unpack in that exchange from both perspectives. However, the main takeaway is this: The tradeoffs between an executive and an individual contributor were not attractive to me. I am a firm believer in having representation through diversity and inclusion in senior leadership roles. Personally, I look at people in leadership roles as mentors; I understand their importance. I think HR and executive leaders should realize that not all high performers are interested in those roles and that it is a good thing. After all, where would a ship full of captains go? Leadership does not equate to title. Furthermore, leadership can be fostered in all of us, in all paths, and in all roles in and out of work.
Personally, I look at people in leadership roles as mentors; I understand their importance.
I find a lot of fulfillment from coaching people. And while I don’t doubt I could manage a team — it doesn’t drive me. I realized early in my professional career that I enjoy learning from others and having my own projects.
Fast forward 10 years, I pushed my career from working in business roles to IT functional roles. The transition was not quick or necessarily easy. While in business roles, I did many self-assigned projects, completed training on my own time, and did a lot of resume grooming. But none of these seemed to help me get an interview for IT roles. A lateral move was not possible to make the transition happen. I took a step backward in terms of pay and title when I transitioned. Unfortunately, it was the only way I could make it work. It was a tradeoff I was willing to make if it opened the doors to more IT Roles in the future, which it did. I just needed to get my foot in the door. (My gripe with hiring managers and recruiters later.) Ultimately, the windy road that is my professional experience or career has been overall quite fulfilling and I don’t regret saying “no” to those management roles in the past.
Reassessing what is important to me before taking a new role or making a change really helps me make decisions that work best for me. What I do now brings me a sense of accomplishment, while my personal life is not neglected.
Reassessing what is important to me before taking a new role or making a change really helps me make decisions that work best for me.
Now that I am in my early forties with at least three career path changes, I have realized three things.
Firstly, I am still interested in learning and furthering my technical knowledge, but it is quite challenging to stay on top of it without proper habits.
Secondly, the soft skills and leadership training from early in my career have come incredibly handy, but they require continuous refreshers to remain effective.
Lastly, your mental and physical health also requires constant attention. Learning techniques to manage stress and anxiety are important. Learning a variety of topics and skills is incredibly helpful to cognition. Physical activity and healthy eating habits are also pivotal to overall health. After all, how would you enjoy the fruits of your labor without a healthy body and mind?
How would you enjoy the fruits of your labor without a healthy body and mind?
I will be publishing a series of thought pieces based on my personal experiences, covering a variety of topics related to these three focus areas:
- Soft skills: leadership, communication, collaboration, and others
- Technical topics: small projects or exercises for different data analytics and data engineering tools
- Share practices to maintain good mental and physical health
Every now and again, I will talk to other women and learn from them what techniques and practices they employ to upskill their professional careers, how they improve and maintain their soft skills, and what they do to stay healthy.
I hope to connect with other women in technical fields and learn more about your experiences.
