As a History Graduate, I have not followed a typical route into a career in technology. However, the research, analysis and commitment required to complete my Masters are skills I have relied upon throughout my career and ultimately have led me to where I am today. In my first full time role, I did not anticipate that learning the front end of a database would lead me to teaching myself how to code in order to support the IT department with analysing data to write KPI and metric reports. A year or so later I was the bridge between the business, the IT team and third party suppliers, turning business requirements into technology based solutions. This allowed me the opportunity to truly appreciate how technology fits into and supports business strategies as well as developing further technology based skills. In January 2017, I joined BAE Systems Applied Intelligence as a consultant, securing a role working in cyber security, a completely new sector for me. It is complex and can be fast paced, unpredictable yet fascinating and absolutely my most rewarding role to date. I get to work with a great and incredibly diverse team and for clients that deliver critical services to the infrastructure and security of the United Kingdom. At the start of my career I had no idea that I would end up working in technology, let alone cyber security, but now that I am, I could not imagine doing anything else.
