The Path of Choices: Building My Career in Tech

The story of our successes and failures is paved with choices. Some women in technology planned their careers from as early as they could dream and imagine. I am not one of those women. Rather, I am proof that every single decision can set us on a way forward and derail even the best-laid plans.?

Raised by my mother and grandmother, both scientists, my influences of strong women led me to believe that I could do whatever I set my mind to. As a strong-willed, independent-minded girl, I of course leaned aggressively into the arts and all things creative.?

I played my strengths while slowly letting go of whatever fondness I once had for the sciences I was raised around. A girl that once willingly spent hours in her mom's lab, reading notes on experiments would come home and struggle with algebra long enough to declare that science was not her thing. Language and expression were my focus, reaching for things that felt authentic and effortless. I started believing I should be a lawyer because that's the picture of what a good arts student would aim to become.?

Choices made by us and around us lead us to what is, rather than what may have been. Looking back, the power and freedom I once associated with a career in law I realize found tenfold in technology.

While none of my education-related choices contributed to the career I am both proud and honored to have today, the choice to follow my curiosity and take risks started me on a track I followed unknowingly. Taking a gap year after completing my Bachelor of Arts degree, I studied for the LSAT while working in an entry-level customer service role.

Soon, the role presented me with the opportunity to work on a project that needed a German speaker. Having spent some of my childhood in Germany, I interviewed for the position, again playing my strengths. The risk came when I was asked to do German-speaking technical support.

This was not something that I considered to be in my skill set, in fact, quite the opposite. Yet, I was intrigued. What could I really do if I got out of my comfort zone? The influence of the women who raised me I think came in. I wanted to take on this challenge for myself, not because it was expected of me.

So, I agreed to learn the role and product inside and out. I learned that technology can be creative and inspiring, and I leaned into developing a skill set I did not intend to have.?

The next role focused on cloud infrastructure and cemented both my passion for technology and my place in the industry. Another opportunity and chance-taken later, I found myself in Identity and Access Management, again starting from the ground up. Where I once would have been pulled towards what came easily, here I worked to learn and grow into things that felt near impossible... until they didn't.?

After seven and a half years in technical support, taking another risk led me to a Professional Services role and deeper into the IAM space. I learned not only what I want to work on, but also how I want to work. Leaving a job I loved at an industry-leading company felt like a risk when I made the decision to join Strata a year ago, but not taking that risk would have been the biggest risk of all.

The gap year never ended, and the career I never intended to have is turning out better than any plan I could have made.?Although technology is a male-dominated field, there is a place here for everyone; even if you did not intend to be here, even if you still have days when you feel you don't belong.

By Jenny Farbstein, Principal Professional Services Engineer at Strata Identity

Check out our open roles at Strata: https://www.strata.io/company/careers/