Maybe you’re still deciding what it is you want to be “when you grow up”, and you’ve heard of all the jobs and earning potential in the tech sector. So, a small, quiet question whispers across your mind:
“Am I good enough to succeed in tech?”
Maybe you’re unfulfilled in your current role and are looking for a new challenge, and you’ve heard about all the innovation, and potentially impactful work going on in the tech sector. So, the question might be a little louder, a little more persistent:
“Am I good enough to succeed in tech?”
Or maybe you’re already on the tech path, but still feel this gripping anxiety, and the question has become a constant drumbeat pounding through your brain:
“Am I smart enough?”
“Am I talented enough?”
“Am I good enough to succeed in the tech sector?”
Well, we spoke to the woman with the answer for you.
You’re not the only one asking
We were introduced to Samantha Imafidon as Cloud Solution Architect from Microsoft, but after a little digging and we quickly discovered she’s also an online influencer helping women with tips to break into the tech industry – and the number one question she says she receives is usually some form of “am I good enough?”
Her answer:
“YES. Yes, you should pursue a career in tech. If you needed a sign – here it is!”
Will it be easy to break into a career in tech?
While Samantha admits that, no, it won’t always be easy, she reassures all who ask her that “it is possible!”
Even working for a supportive workplace like Microsoft, Samantha has her difficult days.
In a post on her widely popular Instagram channel, she shares one such day:
“Whew – the day I had today. A humbling experience indeed. It was tough y’all. Nothing was working the way it was supposed to, I was in conversations where it seemed people were talking another language and I was stressed ? Being a few months into role and I’ve learnt a lot but still have so much I don’t know yet. But this post serves as a reminder to myself and all of you who are trying to break into tech/new to role, that this journey may not be easy but there are things we can do to make it easier!”
And the post shared her tips to overcome these hurdles:
- Record your small wins
- Remember what you’re working towards
- Get inspired: Find role models who you can look up to
- Get a mentor
- Take breaks!
- Don’t give up!
The benefits of a career in tech
For Samantha, there has always been an alignment between her own personal life mission, and her career with Microsoft.
“For a long time, one of my life missions has been to change lives through technology. Whether that is through building technology or revealing the art of the possible of technology to those who are unaware, enabling them to do more. This is what Microsoft is all about. The mission statement is to empower every person and organization to achieve more. I love that in all the work done here there is a continual focus on doing better and doing good through technology. That is what I am all about.”
Samantha also shares that there are quite a few benefits to working in tech at such an amazing company.
A range of experiences
From getting flown out to Vegas for tech conferences, to delivering presentations and demos of tech to clients, to spending a whole day just learning. Samantha says no two days are the same.
“There’s also quite a variety of celebrations that occur – for instance earlier this year we had a celebration in honor of Microsoft UK turning 40. Outside of that, every year globally the company celebrates wins of our financial year and, prior to the pandemic, that looked like flying to Las Vegas and meeting Microsoft colleagues from all over the world.
We also have employee resource groups that host several other events/celebrations throughout the year. I’m part of the Women at Microsoft ERG and every year we do a big production and event to celebrate International Women’s Day. But there are also ERGs like Embrace which holds events to celebrate everything from Asian Heritage Month to Diwali to Black History Month!”
Career opportunities/ room for growth
There are more than 600 offices worldwide (including a treehouse in the HQ in Remond), and with so many tech career paths on offer, Samantha thinks this is a huge benefit to anyone considering a career in tech.
“I recently made a role change, and it was great to have support from mentors and my management along the way to advise on how to make it happen, what teams I can be looking at, and suggest individuals to speak to as I figured out what my next step should be. People were so willing to help, even just by taking a call to explain more about what they do.”
In another post on her Instagram channel, Samantha highlighted that not all careers in tech require a knowledge of coding. Her own role as a cloud solution architect, for example, requires only that she can train and advise her customer partners on how to work with Microsoft’s cloud solutions.
Her post reads:
“Remember there are both coding and non-coding jobs available in tech! Even in the cloud computing space (which I work in). Here are some job titles you can be looking into as part of your research. Remember these are just job titles and each company may require different skills depending on the role (e.g. one company may say you should code for a particular role and another may say it’s not needed) – so read job descriptions carefully.”
Coding jobs available: Cloud engineer, Cloud Developer, Data Engineer, DevOps Engineer, System Operations, Cloud Security Engineer, AI Engineer.
Non-coding jobs available: Cloud Solutions Architect, Cloud Project Manager, Cloud Administration, Account Executive, Tech Sales, Customer Success Manager, Cloud Consultant.
Any of these roles spark your interest?
Check out Microsoft UK’s employer profile now to find out more.
Work/life balance
One of the biggest things Samantha says sets Microsoft UK apart from other companies (apart from the people and the culture) is the work/life balance. She appreciates how much freedom Microsoft offers to separate work from life and actually enjoy the life she has worked so hard for.
“I knew I’d made the right decision to work here, not only when I got working with incredible colleagues but also when I realized the company encourages you to pursue what you’re passionate about outside of your role – whether that is sports, diversity, charity work.
“I also loved that we got five extra days off for our wellbeing last year. We also have a wellbeing fund to expense things like sportswear, home office materials, books, massages, and more.”
So, forget about being ‘good enough’ and ask if you’re passionate enough?
The more we dug into Samantha’s amazing content (by the way, you can find her at @becomingsamantha_ on Instagram, and at @becomingsamantha on Tiktok) the more we realized the question rumbling around your head shouldn’t be ‘Am I good enough’ it should be ‘Am I passionate enough’.
“Will there be rejections? Quite possibly. But that doesn’t mean you should give up. Especially if you have a genuine interest in the tech area you are pursuing. Remember you only need one yes. So, try to not focus on the no’s and push forward with your efforts to get that yes!
“I’ve been in tech for almost four years now and while it can be hard work, there really are a lot of benefits of working in this industry, and personally it’s the only industry I’d ever want to work in (at least for now).”
