Abstract
Shajida chose to pursue a career in technology/engineering straight after leaving college because she had a keen interest in computing, having studied electronics and computing at A level.
Unlike many of her friends, she had no desire to follow the traditional route of attending University, but instead wanted to gain real-world work experience and kick-start her career as soon as possible. Having completed 4 weeks of work experience with Movement to Work (AKA Go Tech) partnered with Accenture, Shajida went on to apply for the first intake of the Accenture London Technology Apprenticeship programme in 2014. This gave Shajida the ability to try multiple roles and expand her knowledge of the world of technology.
Many of her roles varied, so on some days she would find herself managing an entire project delivery, while on others, she would be doing DevOps, test automation or even development. At one point in time, Shajida was managing the DevOps stream of work on a project while also covering scrum activities as an acting Scrum Master.
Over the past 2 years, she has been working mainly in Financial Services, implementing DevOps solutions and automating their delivery pipelines. However, she has held onto her interests of project management and agile working by helping projects become more Agile.
Outside of work, Shajida has been given countless opportunities to inspire and relay her experiences to the younger generation – exposing them to technology as a career option. She has worked with organizations such as Pathway CTM and TeachFirst to share her experiences as an apprentice. Because of her efforts in client delivery and promoting women in technology and apprenticeships, Shajida was awarded the Accenture Apprentice of the Year Award 2018, along with the Rate My Apprenticeship Outstanding Higher/Degree Apprentice Award 2018.
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