Not all career paths follow a straight line. Sometimes, they get off to a more circuitous start.
Here, Tatiana Bordeianu, an assistant systems administrator at Liberty IT, talks about the path her career has taken, from starting out as an interpreter to working in tech.
What first stirred your interest in a career in this area?
I had worked as an interpreter for a few years, as I’ve always been interested in learning other languages, but, after a while, I wanted to try something different. I decided to start a career in IT as I have also always been interested in how the industry works – in IT, there are so many areas you can work in.
What steps led you to the role you now have?
I began a degree in DIT, which was mostly programming-oriented. I really didn’t see myself programming long-term, so I took a role as technical support executive in a broadband and TV company.
After a year of being there, I wanted to try a general IT support role – something that would deal with more than just broadband and TV. I got a job in Liberty IT as a help-desk agent and, after two years, I was able to progress and move into a systems administrator role.
What were the biggest surprises or challenges you encountered on your career path?
I would say one of the main challenges I had was the breadth of knowledge needed for my IT help-desk agent role at Liberty IT. We support so many systems and applications in Liberty Mutual that it is impossible to know everything that they do and how all the applications run. However, if we got a call on those, we still had to come up with some kind of solution or fix for the customer.
We had what we call a knowledge base, but you couldn’t depend solely on that – you needed to do your research sometimes and develop your own solutions. I suppose that’s what made me want to learn more and more and be a step ahead. I am eager to move up the ladder and, after working hard for two years, I moved onto the next stage of my career.
Was there any one person who was particularly influential as your career developed?
My family has always been there for me, and encouraged me to do something I would enjoy.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I love being part of a supportive team, who are eager to help me with challenges. I also enjoy building strong relationships with people I have never met, like my team members who are based in the US. Working in a support role, you need to build those bridges and you need to be able to help each other to the best of your abilities.
I like the technical part as well, because I learn new things every day. I like the fact that I am able to fix complicated issues, some of which I have never encountered before. This gives me the satisfaction that I am doing my job right.
What aspects of your personality do you feel make you suited to this job?
I have always been a happy, helpful and friendly person. I am also a team player and I enjoy sharing information around, because you never know when it might be useful to someone.
I also think that my positive attitude has helped me a lot, especially in this role, because sometimes I might not have all the answers or I might not know exactly how to fix an issue, but I am always able to find a solution!
How did Liberty IT support you on your career path, if at all?
While I was working on the help desk before moving into my new role, it could be kind of difficult to get time off the calls to go on training, but Liberty IT made sure to facilitate it. I have done a lot of self-learning courses and, when there was time available away from the help desk, I got to shadow with some of the teams, one of which I am part of now. Liberty IT has given me the chance to progress in my career, which I am very grateful for.
I get a lot of support in my new team, especially from my manager, who has been nothing but supportive. We are currently working on a development plan for me to get training in other areas as well, so the future looks promising!
I have always gone above and beyond to show that I am keen to progress within the company. I feel Liberty IT is a great place to work, and I see myself working here for a very long time.
What advice would you give to those considering a career in this area, or just starting out in one?
I would say set your goals high, don’t get discouraged by a few setbacks, keep a positive attitude, be patient and persistent, and don’t stop until you get there.
