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5 Minutes with Suzanne Holtham, SQL Developer

One of our valued Montash candidates is Suzanne Holtham, who works at Shawbrook Bank as an SQL Developer. We took 5 minutes with Suzanne to gain an insight into her experience as a developer, her passion for tech, working as a woman in the industry and what advice she has for budding young developers with a tech career on the horizon. Describe in one sentence, what is the role of an SQL Developer? In a nutshell it is creating and maintaining databases, database objects and automated jobs to generate reports, extracts and batch loads. Beyond the nutshell, it is also likely to include elements of analysis and investigation, testing, documentation and support. What do you enjoy most about being an SQL Developer? I’m implementation-focussed, so I always enjoy creating a solution to a problem/requirement and seeing that project through to go-live. The project length can vary from a 2-hour emergency ticket or a project over 2 years. The reward at the end is solving the problem and delivering the solution. Did you always want to work in tech? I was a good all-rounder at school and didn’t have any firm ideas at the time of any specific careers to go into. Having said that, tech has always been a strong influence in my life as my father had a long career working for an early computing firm and by best friend also was into computing. I remember my Dad bought me a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128K one Christmas as a child. He had me typing in programs from the manual on Christmas day. I was hooked. It was around the time of selecting university courses that I realised I could select a course in something I not only enjoyed but would also lead to a fruitful career. The girls 6th form I studied at did not offer IT at A-level at the time though, so it was a bit of a leap of faith. Thankfully, I landed on my feet, working on my passion. How has the tech industry changed? Specialisation and outsourcing. Early IT job adverts would specify “programmer wanted”, then you would learn whatever programming language was required on the job. Now, as the amount of different technologies in the market has grown, it is common for job specs to require the candidate to be trained in a string of specific technologies and to have substantial commercial experience in the particular business sector. Competition has tightened up and not just locally. Globalisation means that outsourcing companies are able to provide services from lower cost locations and compete with the local market place. As the economy has peaked and troughed and conditions have tightened I have known friends who have been made redundant multiple times and also kept their job multiple times. What is the hardest part about your job? Pressure and stress. There have been various stories in the media of IT projects that over-run or fail to deliver altogether. We hear about live systems that crash, causing chaos, reputational damage and financial loss. There is a constant pressure to deliver on time or fix a critical problem, and quite often those times are when your laptop will crash or an even more urgent problem that needs your attention will crop up. It can be a very stressful job. How has automation changed your role? Remote working. It is quite common now for desk-based office roles to have an element of remote working in them. Companies are quick to realise that office space costs can be reduced if hot desking and remote working is embraced. In addition, this removes the commuting element for workers and can help with work-life balance e.g. personal appointments are more easily fitted in without losing half a day of productivity. What advice would you give to other women starting out in tech? You will face challenges, and they will not necessarily be technical. Be flexible, be open to learning new skills and find out who your customers are – the project sponsor, the person who signs off your timesheet or completes your performance review at the end of the year. Work hard to build relationships within the business and with stakeholders, but also accept that you can’t please everyone all of the time. Have the confidence to say no. The very nature of the work you are doing may put you at odds with some people. This is OK. Try to handle it professionally, you’ll thank yourself afterwards. When I first started my career I would frequently hear the comment, “You don’t look like you work in IT”. It was a comment based on my looks, gender and a preconceived stereotyped image of a techie. I would take it as a compliment though, and I think it helps to try and find the positive in these experiences, even if it is just a takeaway of a life learning experience. What are the soft skills that matter the most? Good team fit, flexibility, ability to manage stress / pressure, even if that is by not working late most of the time! Always look to increase your knowledge to become more valuable. What other skills are important in your role? Listening, take notes (you won’t remember everything) and learn from others. Soak up everything you can. You cannot solve a problem if you don’t understand it. Looking for your next career step? Take a look at our open vancies here.

The Importance of Women in Tech

International Women’s Day 2019 marks the celebration of women all across the globe. This year’s campaign theme is #balanceforbetter - ‘A balanced world is a better world.’ As we see the day bursting with social campaigns, activities and events, we take a look at the importance of women in the world of tech. There is no doubt that there is still a vast gender gap in the tech industry. According to a study by PwC, only 15% of employees working in STEM roles in the UK are female. So, why is there such a lack of women in the tech industry? Children's rights activist Marian Wright Edleman, makes a great insight: ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ When girls and women face such male dominated industries, they can be completely dissuaded from considering a career in that space. But women have made such a huge impact in tech and computer programming from the very beginning - women whose stories have been hidden in the background until more recent years (read our previous article on the history of women in tech). The good news is that we are starting to see a big change in recent years. There has been a surge of activity around encouraging women to enter tech roles. Around the UK and beyond, organisations such as #techmums, Girls Who Code and DevelopHer UK are equipping women with the digital skills, confidence and the opportunities to break into the space. The reason behind the efforts are broad, but the reality is that diverse teams perform better. “Individuals from different genders, races, backgrounds and experiences bring different perspectives that can lead to innovative solutions,” says the World Economic Forum. We spoke Suzanne Holtham (SQL Developer at Shawbrook Bank), about her experience working as a woman in the world of tech and recruitment. What have you noticed about women in tech during your years of work? “Over time, I’ve seen women progress into senior management roles and most recently seen women at the board level as IT directors in a company I have worked at. However, I’ve always had positive female role models in IT such as Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of lastminte.com in the early 2000s during the dot com boom. What has increased over time is the variety of different roles available as tech has evolved and specialisation has followed. I’ve chosen to pursue specialisation rather than progression to management and have found this rewarding to be recognised as an expert in my field.” Why did you choose this career path? “My father was an IT consultant and bought me a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128K one Christmas as a child. He had me typing in programs from the manual on Christmas day. My best friend also received the same and, together, we used to write games in Basic. The girls’ school I attended did not offer IT subjects at A-level at the time. Being good at science subjects, I very nearly went into engineering, but at the last minute I decided to follow my heart and pursued a career in what I enjoyed in my spare time. I went on to study Computer Science at Brunel University which included industrial placements, and made the transition to a full time career in IT as a natural progression.” What advice you would give your younger self? “Don’t be disheartened if certain opportunities don’t work out, when this has happened to me the new path has led to something even better working out in the long run.” Nandip Aulak is the Head of Marketing at Montash and is a strong advocate for women’s equality. We asked her to share her thoughts: “Do we need to see a rise in the number of women in tech? Yes of course we do, and that is across all industries. It is such a big issue with less than 7% of tech positions in Europe filled by women. We are aware that we play a part in delivering a pipeline of both men and women for the roles we work for. The advice we give to our clients is to consciously create that job description so that it targets both men and women. Sounds simple but it is a key part of the process. I have worked in marketing and tech for 15 years and the advice I would give to women joining the world of work is not to be afraid to ask questions. Work on stretch projects and upskill where you can, as tech is an ever-changing industry. Also, mentors are important. My mentors are a mix of men and women, who are all equally important to me, and they help me grow as an individual. Most importantly, don’t imitate the men around you to fit in. Be you, show your feminine side - empathy and nurturing are key skills that are imperative in any organisation.” So, the tech gender gap may be far wider than it should be but we are definitely moving in the right direction. We know that a more diverse workforce makes for an exciting future, and the women in the Montash team will continue to champion working in the industry and encourage others to join them in the space.

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