{"id":9655,"date":"2024-04-30T17:12:35","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T15:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.29forward.com\/bez-kategorii\/you-are-going-to-fail-so-fail-fast-my-journey-from-zoology-to-it-jessica-lund"},"modified":"2024-08-15T12:12:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T10:12:55","slug":"you-are-going-to-fail-so-fail-fast-my-journey-from-zoology-to-it-jessica-lund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/29forward.com\/pl\/people-at-29forward\/you-are-going-to-fail-so-fail-fast-my-journey-from-zoology-to-it-jessica-lund","title":{"rendered":"You are going to fail, so fail fast – my journey from Zoology to IT \u2013 Jessica Lund"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Jessica Lund<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou are going to fail, so fail fast – my journey from Zoology to IT \u2013 Jessica Lund\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A bit about me
<\/strong>My name is Jessica Lund, I am 31 years old, born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up in Johannesburg was an amazing experience, there are a lot of different people, languages, and cultures. I was also very fortunate that my parents exposed me to many different activities from an early age. I was always encouraged to be independent, adventurous and to try new things.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn South Africa there is a standard curriculum for government schools up until grade 9. So, for the final years of school, grades 10, 11 and 12, you complete a set of standard subjects and select three additional subjects. Not being sure of what I wanted to do as a career I chose to do a bit of everything, so took Science, Biology and Accounting. Considering both my parents have degrees, it seemed like a natural progression at the time to go to university. I was still not sure of any career path, so I decided to follow my love for the outdoors and started a Bachelor of Science in Zoology at the University of Pretoria. After the first few months I realised it was not what I had hoped it to be; I could never remember \u2018psittacofulvin pigments\u2019 come exam time (it is interesting if you are keen to google it). I also did not seem to see the value in memorising all the animal names, Latin names, microbial terms, and genetic terms when I could simply just look it up on the internet in the real world. I did, however, love the maths, physics and chemistry related classes so I finally switched to Chemical Engineering and went through with it. Soon after getting my degree I took a break from engineering. I always dreamed of living in Europe, so I decided to go after that goal. A friend of mine moved to China to teach English, which made me think that it might be a way to get to Europe. After doing some research I narrowed down Spain as the country I would most like to live in. I applied for several TEFL<\/strong>1<\/sup> positions, went through the interview process, and finally got the offer. I got to see so many amazing places and meet so many amazing people. After a year I moved back to South Africa. I love traveling and seeing new parts of the world, so I decided to move to Cape Town. Living here has allowed me to do what I love on the weekends, go to the beach, go to wine farms, and spend time outdoors in the mountains hiking with friends.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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My not-so-direct way into IT
<\/strong>Chemical Engineering was an unbelievably valuable learning experience, I got exposure to a wide range of skills and problem-solving techniques. There is such a broad range of subjects covered during an engineering undergraduate degree, everything from algebra, calculus, differential equations, statistics, chemistry, programming, and business \u2013 the list goes on. The point is, I gained exposure to skills that have been most valuable in the working world. I learnt how to methodically approach a problem, how to break it down into bite size chunks, how to research the problem (hopefully to find out that someone else has already solved it) and how to creatively approach the problem from different angles. I also learnt about time management, project planning, budgeting, and the different styles of executing projects. I learnt to use different tools such as Excel, MATLAB, Octave, and Python to solve problems. Ultimately the most valuable lesson I learnt from my time at university was \u201cyou are<\/em> going to fail, so fail fast\u201d. It is going to take a couple of attempts to get things rite rigt <\/span>right, and that\u2019s okay as long as you learn from the mistakes you make before your next try.<\/p>\n

Post university, I spent another year in Europe, living in Madrid teaching English. The next step for me was to move back to South Africa to look for work. It was extremely challenging, the first few jobs I had were not a great fit for me and did not last long. The reason often being because I was the only female and did not feel like my ideas were being considered. I was also once asked to \u2018be the designated minutes taker, because you are the only woman and must have good handwriting\u2019; my employer purposefully got an illegible piece of paper, I did not have to do it again. So, I opted to leave those positions as soon as I could because I wanted to be working in a position where I was valued for my brain and where I could actively take part in discussions about the solutions to problems. As an interim I started tutoring mathematics and working remotely from home while I hunted for the next work opportunity.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, covid hit in March of 2020 in South Africa and a lockdown ensued, which made it even more challenging to find a job. So, I decided to change my career path yet again and try to get into programming because it meant I could work remotely, solve problems, and learn new skills. This led me to an amazing internship which paved the way for me to get into IT and my role at 29Forward. The internship covered topics such as agile, scrum, finance, API development, data practices and KYC.<\/p>\n

Once the internship came to an end, I was lucky enough to get a position at 29Forward as a SAS Administrator. One of the people who co-ordinate the internship put me in touch with 29Forward. To get the job, I needed to write the SAS programming introduction exam. After three weeks of cramming in all the SAS programming knowledge I could, I wrote the exam, aced it, and was offered the position. I have enjoyed working in my current role as I have had exposure to many different technologies. There is always more to learn as new terms pop up as IT continually advances and the way to do things improves. It has also been insightful from a business perspective because I get exposure to different company cultures and see the different styles of management. I think my dad working as a software engineer combined with my exposure to programming in my undergraduate degree helped to push me into IT.<\/p>\n

Why representation is important
<\/strong>In the short stints I worked on engineering sites, I was harassed, left out of the \u201cboy\u2019s club\u201d (that is discussions about work and projects) and told by the one of the few female engineers to try find a different career path\/position because there was no future growth or possibility for promotion; and I believe her because the heads of the different departments were all men. This was my personal experience and by no means representative of the industry as a whole.<\/p>\n

But for myself, representation is important. Having a female in a leadership role at the company, would have meant I could have spoken up. I would have felt more comfortable voicing my opinion because I would have felt less vulnerable to judgement by the men who benefited from the company culture. I may have failed to speak up then, but I am endeavouring to speak up now. The lesson I learnt from the first iteration of working in a male dominated industry was to be brave and speak up even though it is scary and going to be confrontational. Uncomfortable conversations often lead to growth.<\/p>\n

In my current role, I have been fortunate enough to meet amazing men and women who have shown me care and consideration. When I first joined 29Forward I was welcomed, and everyone was eager to help me learn as much as I could. I was also very fortunate in that the male mentor I had at the company was eager to share his insights and help me with problems I did not know how to solve. He was always patient with me and encouraging. He would take risks and try different ways of solving problems, even though it was not a documented solution and might \u2018break something\u2019 (albeit temporarily). That risk taking, positive energy and optimism was really comforting; especially because I am risk adverse, like to follow proved methods\/documentation, and have the stance that the effectiveness of something can only be determined by putting it to the test. I think our strengths complimented one another and our mutual respect meant we made a great team. The 29Forward team has been very welcoming and willing to share their knowledge. In my role as a consultant to different companies I have also worked with incredible people who have listened to me and valued my opinion, and who are willing to teach me along the way. I have also matured and learnt from my previous failed working experiences that it\u2019s okay to speak up even though you are the only woman in the meeting.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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To sum it up
<\/strong>Working in IT for the past year and a bit has been very insightful and shown me that IT has plenty of room for more women. I think there is a fallacy that working in IT means that you are working on new algorithms and are a super genius-nerd type working in a dark and dingy room on a piece of software that will mine the next crypto currency. Now that I am on the other side of the fence, I can attest that it is just not true. There are a range of jobs available in IT; there are positions for the high heeled software sales consultants and the hoody dawning programmers and everyone in-between. Most of the work I do in IT is collaborative, which means I rely heavily on soft skills. These are potentially even more important than the technical skills (because in the end it is easier to learn the technical skills). The reason software projects have failed in my experience has been because of a lack of clear and concise communication.<\/p>\n

I hope that by being vulnerable I help other women in IT to express their opinions more comfortably, knowing that a different opinion is still a valid one. Advise for the future \u2018me\u2019, although it is not easy. Lead by example. Take risks. Show up, even if you are the only woman. Apply for the new role; even though there is one skill they are looking for that you do not have.  Be brave.<\/p>\n

Valuable idea worth spreading:<\/p>\n

Teach girls bravery, not perfections
<\/strong>https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/reshma_saujani_teach_girls_bravery_not_perfection?language=en<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/sup> \u201cTEFL<\/strong> is an acronym that stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language<\/strong>. Essentially, it involves instructing non-English speakers in how to read, write, and speak English.\u201d (How to Get TEFL Certified: What You Need to Know (2019): Volunteer Forever,<\/a> [online]  [abgerufen am 09.08.2021].<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Masz pytania, chcia\u0142by\u015b om\u00f3wi\u0107 z nami sw\u00f3j projekt lub szukasz wsparcia technicznego? Z niecierpliwo\u015bci\u0105 czekamy na rozmow\u0119.<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Um\u00f3w si\u0119 na spotkanie ju\u017c teraz<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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