Monica's story

Tell us a bit about yourself, Monica.

My name is Monica Goyal. I am 22 years old, and I grew up in London. I completed my degree in Biology at the University of Nottingham, and I now live in Bristol for my job with BT Group as a Technology Professional graduate.

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What is your role at BT Group??

I work within the Cloud Team where we move applications to the Cloud, enabling us to focus our efforts on innovation to improve the customer journey. Specifically, I work in the FinOps (Financial Operations) teams, where we are helping to ensure that customers are getting the most value out of their cloud spend.

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I directly and indirectly reach out to teams at BT Group who have their applications on the Cloud, ensuring they are getting the most out of their usage and are using the most cost-efficient generations of Cloud services we use at BT Group. Some of this work includes hosting monthly FinOps Guild meetings and planning FinOps Hackathons which involve showing teams at BT Group about how they can get the most from FinOps. FinOps is a portmanteau of ‘Finance’ and ‘DevOps’, which describes the operating model for the Cloud.

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What does a typical day in your role look like??

A typical day starts with a to-do list! I work across different areas, so first thing in the morning I make sure that I am clear on how I should prioritize my time. In addition to being on the Cloud team, I am also the Gender Equality Network Champion at BT Group, and the Lead of GradNet Southwest, which is a community of graduates that work in the Southwest of England. My responsibility is to curate an inclusive and engaged network, while supporting their professional development.

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Can you tell us a bit more about these projects and roles outside of your day-to-day job??

As GradNet lead, I have organised two successful networking and development days alongside a team of six other graduates. More recently, a group of us took on the 24-hour Welsh Three Peaks, fundraising for a charity called Home Start, one of BT Group’s supported charities. The graduate cohort at BT Group are eager to get involved and we’ve formed an amazing community. Leading the organization of socials, bake sales, and charity events, networking, and development days has been rewarding, and I think team fundraising helps to build confidence and leadership skills, which is valuable for us all. Being confident is a big part of the role that I do.

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More recently, I worked on a project called Shift to Cloud, which revolves around pushing the agenda to move applications onto the Cloud. As part of this, I have created an animation, which speaks to the more creative side of me. I didn’t previously have any experience in animation, but I’ve enjoyed picking up the skill alongside the creative design team, learning how to use applications such as Figma (a design tool, used by the BT Group design teams), and being mentored by the design team.

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Were all these extra opportunities available at BT Group a surprise to you??

It was a mix. I knew there were opportunities at BT Group but due to the in-person restrictions in line with COVID-19 guidelines, the cohort above me had limited opportunities. Communicating with people face-to-face is a situation I flourish in, so I’m glad my cohort was able to get back into the office! A few months in, I had already come across a lot of opportunities.??

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Can you talk to us a little bit more about your journey to BT Group??

I was selected to be a part of the Step into STEM programme which was led by Girls Talk Corporation, an organisation specialising in connecting businesses with talent. The programme partnered with major telecommunications companies, such as BT Group, and this was my first glimpse into the world of technology. I have always been interested in science, which I pursued through my biology degree, but Girls Talk Corporation opened my eyes to the world of tech, especially as the program was more technology orientated than I had anticipated. We visited the London headquarters of both Sky and Vodafone, and I even had the chance to propose new app ideas, and present them to professionals, which is something I’ll never forget. Tech was something I had never really considered before then, but I’m so happy I’m now pursuing a career in technology.

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When you were at university, where did technology sit in terms of considering careers???

I had an internship within Communications at the Ministry of Justice. I enjoyed it, but still being interested in science, I thought, I’d really love a career combining science and communications. The Girls Talk program really inspired me to consider tech as a career, despite pursing a degree in Biology. Since joining BT Group, it has been a steep learning curve coming into the world of tech and coding, but I’ve managed to find my way!?There are so many different roles in tech, and I’ve only just scratched the surface, so I’m excited to explore all the different opportunities.

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What advice would you give to somebody who is considering pursuing a career in tech???

Use your free time to look at the opportunities that are out there and seek advice and guidance. There are loads of materials online available to anyone interested in finding out a bit more about tech and if you are passionate and interested, it’s worth making the time to investigate it. You don’t have to have had a background in tech to pursue it and getting involved in opportunities can unveil career paths that you never even knew you wanted.?

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Thank you, Monica!?