[Career Stories] Becky Green, Senior Business Analyst

We caught up with Senior Business Analyst, Becky Green to discuss her journey into the tech industry, and what it was about Thoughtworks culture that brought her back after two years.

 

When did you know you wanted to have a career in tech?

 

I didn't really have a moment where I thought ‘I want to work in tech’, it was more of ‘I want to work in a place that allows me to use my skills, work with high energy people and make interesting things happen’ and the tech industry just so happened to allow me to do all of that! 

 

As soon as I joined the tech industry I quickly realised how diverse it was in terms of roles, products, ways of working and people. It’s a great place to have a career for those that enjoy variety. 

 

What’s your advice for growing a career in the tech industry?

 

My advice (especially early on) is to take opportunities with enthusiasm, learn as much as you can from experienced people around you, and be confident asking questions. If you can build your personal ‘brand’ early on to be someone who is inquisitive and get things done, people will quickly start trusting you to be responsible for larger pieces of work. Other than that I really enjoy working with people who have a positive attitude so try to bring that to work as much as possible.

 

What is your proudest accomplishment both personally and professionally?

 

Going into the tech industry I felt like there was a pressure to be very technical, and often found myself feeling overwhelmed at the terminology the developers would use. So professionally I chose to complete a course in financial business analysis which included learning Python and SQL at a basic to mid-level. I would say that course was ‘up there’ in terms of difficulty as it included many submissions of exam-style questions, and that was on top of my day-to-day work so it could get quite stressful! However, it has definitely built up my confidence in keeping up with technical conversations. 

 

Personally, I’ve had a shift in mentality that it is entirely ok to not have ‘hard’ technical skills, as there is a ginormous space for people with other skills that are equally important. 

 

Those professional and personal accomplishments have helped me gain confidence in my role in different ways.

 

What do you think makes Thoughtworks special? And why did you choose to work at Thoughtworks?

 

Thoughtworks continually advocates for diversity and inclusivity, inviting people to bring their true selves to work. In hindsight, Thoughtworks showed me that my education around diversity and inclusivity had been limited, so I’m grateful my eyes have been opened up in this space.

 

I left Thoughtworks after two years to pursue a product manager role in financial services. However, not being at Thoughtworks made me recognize how important company culture was, so I decided to come back and continue my learning journey. 

 

We spend so many years of our lives at work -  I believe it's worth investing in your own wellbeing and making sure you’re in a place that suits you.

 

How do you think we can attract more women and underrepresented gender minorities to Thoughtworks?

 

In order to bring women and underrepresented gender minorities (W&UGM) into Thoughtworks, I think it's important for us to see role models who we can envisage ourselves being in the future from a young age. Nowadays you seem to have to commit to a career path once GCSEs or the equivalent are selected, so it's really important to put role models in front of people as early as possible. Also, many W&UGM come to Thoughtworks as career changers, so making sure the company enables those people by being flexible and offering internal training at various levels is super important. 

 

How do you think we can help and support women and underrepresented gender minorities to build a career at Thoughtworks?

 

Thoughtworks already does a lot in terms of internal training and leadership programs to help women and gender minorities. There are also a lot of incredibly talented W&UGM already at Thoughtworks who would never turn down the opportunity to give advice to those pursuing career development. I really can’t think what more could be done because I’ve never seen more being done elsewhere! But as with anything, there is always room for improvement.

 

And finally, if you were to give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

 

To take time making big decisions, and try not to rush through life! 

 

For more information about careers at Thoughtworks, click here.