I started my career in IT as a software developer but, now, a lot of people often wonder what I really do because they see me in many different spaces and places.
Thought I’d share some of my experiences in the hope that it may help someone along the way trying to make career choices.
And to IT students or graduates – you don’t have to be stuck in cubicles or server rooms and behind computer screens focusing on a single area in IT, there are many interesting things to do.
Variety of Work
Leaving formal employment 7 years ago, I’ve always wanted to be able to choose what type of work I do, who I work for, and how much I work for.
It’s been a busy year already and I’ve been fortunate to work in a few countries this year – Samoa, Maldives, Thailand, Seychelles, and Fiji of course. And I’ll be in Papua New Guinea and Korea in the coming months.
I’ve been doing everything from:
- running digital marketing and e-commerce training for women entrepreneurs,
- reviewing business licence processes for Samoa with my wife,
- developing training content for women entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific region,
- building national fisheries and agriculture information systems and other databases with the team at Traseable,
- promoting oceans-related information systems in the Pacific,
- advising on disease surveillance tools, and
- recently looking at monitoring and evaluation (M&E) information systems for a national agriculture ministry.
Not forgetting the many presentations and panels relating to fisheries, agriculture, technology, and entrepreneurship I’ve done in person or remotely this year. And then there’s all the project proposal and report writing associated with most of the work I do.
Not for Everyone
Doing a whole bunch of different things like I do is probably not everyone’s cup of tea.
For those of you interested in this, read on.
When I was doing my Computer Science degree I always knew I wanted to build software. Building software teaches you a lot of skills – the most important ones for me I’ve found are:
- analysing problems and designing workable solutions
- understanding (and empathising with) user needs
- learning to interact with non-IT folks
- understanding the context in which systems are used
All of these skills contribute to the different work I do now at Traseable and as part of my consulting company.
OK, So How’d I Get Here?
This is what I did:
- Studied for an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Information Systems
- Worked in internships for much of my student life – I’ll talk more about the value of internships in another post soon
- Took an opportunity to be a consultant in my final year of undergraduate studies – was worth the added stress
- Worked as a programmer/systems analyst for 2 years at a development bank and a regional university after graduating – worked with some fantastic people
- Promoted to a Manager at the university looking after their HR information systems (and at one point also their Student information systems) – got to experience responsibility early in my career
- Joined a regional fisheries organisation as their Database Administrator 4 years after completing my undergrad degree – with zero fisheries knowledge and experience
- Promoted to manage the IT team of the regional organisation after 2.5 years with them – probably one of the youngest to manage an IT team at a Pacific regional organisation
- Left the regional organisation at the end of my first contract after 3 years to go into business and consulting – pay and benefits were great but the work was monotonous
Some things I think that are worth pointing out:
- While I started as a programmer/analyst building software, I eventually gained more general experience and knowledge covering different facets of ICT which was important for my transition to Management
- I was always reserved and hated public speaking but over time, like any other skill, I learnt how to be good at it – today, I get invitations to speak at various events locally and internationally
- During my time at the regional fisheries organisation, I learnt how to be a Trainer and design training programmes
- I learnt project management along the way, as a project team member and eventually leading projects
- Report writing is definitely a skill I’ve learnt over my various work experiences and I still write a lot of reports
- In every single sector (tertiary education, HR, IT, fisheries, agriculture, etc) I worked in, I learnt as much as I could about that sector to be able to converse like any non-IT professional in that industry
What I Really Do (I Think)
I use all my skills, experience (especially in IT), and network to assess problems, craft solutions, and build the capacity of others in areas that could benefit from the use of digital technologies.
Most of my days are spent in a combination of things – leading teams, engaging stakeholders, talking to people about their challenges, designing solutions, training others, and writing reports/proposals.
Very little of my time now is spent writing software – unless we have a deadline due.
Feel free to reach out if you find any of this interesting or need some advice with your IT careers – you can find me on LinkedIn.
[Feature Image: on a beach in the Seychelles following fish samplers around]
Kenneth Katafono 