Analyst Programmer
Pacific Community (SPC)
Educational Quality & Assessment Programme (EQAP)
Background
As an analyst programmer, I design, develop, and implement
software programs, which are solutions to real-life challenges. I am in this
line of profession for past four year. I started my professional career as a
software developer at Datec Fiji Limited. Currently, I work as an analyst
programmer for Educational Quality & Assessment Programme (EQAP).
I am the only female developer in EQAP’s Information
Technology (IT) team. In essence, my work is about designing and developing
information systems solutions to help improve efficiency and effectiveness of
the workplace or operations in question.
My work ranges from the simple to the complex; from training
a system’s end-users to developing a new application from scratch.
Motivation
The perception of society during my young days was that STEM
was a male dominating field. Families and communities always discouraged young
girls to step into this field. I wanted to be different and explore this
challenging area. This was my initial reason for choosing science. When I
became a full science student, learning became even more exhilarating,
especially with Chemistry and Biology.
As a result, I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. I had the
perception if I am successful in this field then I can inspire other young
females to step into this field and break the social stigmas.
However, my career choice changed when I received a scholarship to study
in Malaysia. In the
university where I studied Software Engineering, I was one of three women in a
class of about 100 students. This was where I really felt that the gender
disparity. I did not let that unsettle
me though. I immersed myself into studies.
The experience of learning how to code, debug, and build software
programs pushed me beyond my comfort zone. The best thing about programming is
that it allows you to build things on your own. It can be a simple program or
an ambitious one.
The job itself requires a lot of dedication and precision. One needs to
be highly motivated. I spent countless late nights just to learn more. While it
was tough, it was incredibly rewarding and continues to be. I work in an
incredible team they highly motivate me to step into more challenging projects.
Lastly,
determination, hard work and a resilient spirit among other things are key
factors. I take on the challenges, and work in a team and my gender does not
define me.
