I was born and raised in India and when I was in class 5 we had a new subject called ‘Computer Science’. It was the 6th subject along with the usual Math, English, Science et.al. Fascinating one it was! LOGO was the language I learnt in class 5 and in class 6 it was BASIC. I decided then that I will grow up and work on these machines – Computer Engineer is what I wanted to be. I had no clue of what it was and what it takes but I knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living.

I topped the Computer Science subject every year and studied it as main subject in my HSC. I went on to study Bachelors of Technology in the Information Technology stream. Whilst in university, I developed a simple Library Management system along with a friend (or should I say the then boyfriend and the now spouse?? ;)). I also taught computer literacy to young students from economically backward strata of the society on weekends as a volunteer in a charitable organisation, called Ullas Trust. Campus interviews were held in the final semester of the bachelor’s degree and I got a job with a software and consulting giant, Tata Consultancy Services, in 2008. There began my exciting journey in the world of Data. I extracted, migrated, transformed, loaded, and drew insights from data.

This STEM job took me to different countries and gave me exposure to different ways of working and cultures. I worked for an Insurance project in India; a Banking project in The Netherlands and for a Healthcare one in Malaysia before moving to Sydney for the same healthcare company, Cochlear. Cochlear is a great example of how STEM changes lives – their tiny implantable hearing solution, full of Science, Research and Innovation, brings back sound to the deafened ears and joy to the lives.

Some ask me if I am not bored doing the same thing for so many years – but that’s the beauty of technology – there is never a dull day. Technology keeps evolving every day and there is constant learning and improvising. What I did with data in 2008 is so much different with what I do now; things have moved on from being reported about past sales /numbers to predicting future numbers. When you keep abreast with the changes and evolve, STEM ensures that you are always employable. I now work as a Senior Business Intelligence Developer and Analyst, and weave stories with colourful graphs and charts!

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