“If you love what you do, and might even be good at it, go where you are wanted and supported.”

– Satu Santamaa, Integration Consultant, Epical

There has always been something intriguing about computers. Growing up, I loved playing computer games and spending hours doing things, often quite meaningless ones, on a computer. At the time, I did not understand that I could have done much more from the command line than just digging into file systems or turning off programs that were mandatory for Windows 95 to run. Oh, so many oopsies. And still counting. 🙂

When we finally got the internet at home in 2001, I started playing online multiplayer games and eventually found my way to IRC and everything related to it. I vaguely remember participating in IRC bot configurations for our channels, and I loved it.

Unfortunately, when I was 17, I had a negative experience at college where I was studying computer science, and I dropped out. After that came a long period where life happened. Then, in 2015, I found myself browsing university websites, looking for something new, and stumbled across Laurea University of Applied Sciences and their degree in information technology for adults. I could work and earn an interesting degree at the same time. Yay. That was it for me, and here I am. 🚀

A degree may give you an advantage

Today, I am an integration developer at Epical and have been with the company since December 2022. I am well experienced with Microsoft Azure, including Azure Logic Apps, and bring nearly ten years of experience from the integration field, developing and evolving integrations for our customers.

Although my field of study was Business Information Technology, I do not believe a degree in IT is strictly needed to work in the IT field. I know many people with incredible enthusiasm and deeper practical knowledge than any degree can provide. Unfortunately, for many employers, a degree is still mandatory for certain positions, which means these people sometimes struggle to get the work they would truly want.

That said, having a degree can be seen as a sign that you can get things done. In that sense, it often creates a positive image for an employer.

Too often good experiences are shadowed by the bad ones

After my negative experience in college, I have not had similar ones. It is true that women are still a minority in IT, but I believe this is changing for the better. Gender should not matter, and I have had the privilege of experiencing that it has not mattered in my case.

I have had so many good experiences that I sometimes find it frustrating how inequality and discrimination so often dominate the discussion around women in tech. I do believe there is still a lot of work to be done, but for me personally, there has been none. I also believe that the next generation will help bring better balance in the years to come.

As a piece of advice, I would say this. If you love what you do, and might even be good at it, go where you are wanted and supported. For example, the Mimmit koodaa community is a great place to start. They have an amazing network, and their members are incredibly helpful. If you want to learn something new, they arrange all kinds of crash courses on almost anything related to IT. They also support career development and do important work bringing women in IT together. Participation in their events is free, and most of them do not require any previous experience.