Girls in ICT - Ivana Mikšin
Table of contents
How it all started?
A few years ago, in the midst of the global economic crisis, I graduated from the Faculty of Technical Sciences, majoring in Architecture. The process of my studies was mostly tiring, thorough, and yet interesting and inspiring at the same time. Ever since the moment I made my first step leaving the building of the Faculty with my diploma in my hands, I thought that the next thing for me to do would be to apply all the things I had formed and learned during my studies.
What actually happened was daily overthinking, actions and struggle to find a place where all my knowledge and skills would become something… tangible. The newly formed economic crisis further affected the already poor economic situation in our region. Business kept decreasing, and anything built during that unstable period could not be even classified as “architecture”. The market became oversaturated with graduates.
Making the right decision
I got to the point where I realized that the manner in which I had wanted to do this job was not easy to achieve. I asked myself two questions only. Is it possible and is it worth it? I believed that it was not good enough for me. I realized that I wanted to have a job which could make me feel professionally complete, but which could also provide me with stability and security.
At that time, thanks to being surrounded by close people who worked for years in the IT industry, I had a better idea of what was currently being done and how the market functioned in general. In particular, I started to feel increasingly interested in web development. That was the moment of my first encounter with front-end development. I received some valuable advice, support and guidance as to how to start with more detailed studying and learning in this field.
I’ll be honest. As always, it was quite hard in the beginning. However, in time, with a lot of effort, hard work and dedication, I managed to assemble the puzzle of my knowledge into a single picture in which I recognized my outlines.
Where did this decision took me?
3.5 years ago, I was fortunate enough to be offered a great opportunity by such an amazing company as Vega IT and where I still work, to be a part of their internship program, during which I managed to acquire priceless experience and knowledge through practical tasks, projects and examples. Over time, I began to work more independently on large and demanding projects, from which I have always been able to learn something new.
Today, the IT industry is one of the most creative places, with the largest number of new ideas, technologies, knowledge and information exchanges, all of which directly affect the daily lives of people and are available to everyone. As a result, it is very important to keep learning, constantly and on an everyday basis, and to keep monitoring all the trends within the industry.
A piece of advice...
My message to all the girls who have no formal knowledge but would like to get involved in this kind of business is – try, because you really have nothing to lose. If you realize that this is your thing, arm yourself with practical knowledge, patience, hard work and professional approach.
