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Egle Valkunaite discovered her passion for computer science at just 12 years old, during a web development course that sparked her interest in technology. Originally from Lithuania, she pursued her studies in Computer Science at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. After completing an internship at CACEIS bank, Egle joined the bank’s graduate programme, an initiative that allows recent graduates to explore various departments and find roles suited to their skills and interests. Her continuous hunger for learning helped her progress from an IT Project Manager role to her current position as Senior IT Project Manager.
Computer science is a much vaster field, when it comes to work and study opportunities, than often portrayed. It is not limited to becoming a programmer but requires many other skills, such as creativity to design websites, applications and adverts across various communication channels. Data analytics is another example of the diversity of the field: It demands love, knowledge and understanding of data, to grasp what is hidden behind it, which in return offers you the opportunity to find patterns in any domain that sparks your interest.
You can become an architect and build systems from scratch, you can improve people’s daily lives by solving everyday issues with a few simple changes in automatic processes, you can even use your imagination to create a technology that does not even exist yet. Nowadays computer science can be found everywhere, from agriculture to travelling, healthcare and social media. Whatever your interests and hobbies are, I guarantee computer science is linked to them in one way or another.
Logical thinking plays a key role in computer science, especially when taking decisions that could potentially impact the evolution of an ongoing project. You should be able to think “out of the box” and not stick to the conventional ways of solving problems. Embrace the technical features and resources at your disposal to come up with solutions. Don’t be afraid of breaking things and pushing them to the limit. Last but not least, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help if required, especially if you are new in the field. Having co-workers with experience is a blessing and you should take the opportunity to learn from them.
It starts with the male role models women have in their lives, with their support and encouragement to pursue goals even if the field is considered male-dominated. As well as women challenging those stereotypes. It can be as simple as asking a person why they believe a field like computer science is considered as male-dominated.
Equality should also be promoted in the workplace. Most companies have already set goals to achieve in this domain but they should also target the younger generations that will enter the job market years later. Summer jobs and internships could be an easy way to provide insight and experience of what it is like to work in computer science and to prove that there is no reason to consider the field as more suited for men. For example, by welcoming interns within the Bank, CACEIS contributed to Crédit Agricole’s Plan Jeunesse in order to onboard and develop young generations.
Once you understand the core concepts of computer science, you are able to understand how the majority of the tools and appliances around us work. Not only are you then able to fix simple issues yourself but you can also improve them and tailor them to your specific needs.
Computer science is evolving quickly and new technologies are constantly emerging. As long as you are willing to learn, you will never get bored!