Breaking the Barrier Between Two Industries: Commerce to I.T.

As an 18-year-old trying to figure out which undergrad degree to pursue, I knew that my choice would dictate my future. I concluded that once I accept my offer for a commerce degree, there was no going back. I entered university thinking, "I have only one chance at this and I absolutely cannot screw this up". I was terrified that I would fail at what I was supposed to do- it was either Commerce or nothing. I realized 8 months later that the name of your degree shouldn't hold you back from taking on opportunities, even if they are unrelated. This summer, I gained experience working in the Information Technology- Data Analytics industry. Coming from a commerce background and having no technical skills, here is what I learned from my experience in I.T:

1. Don't be afraid to fail in an industry you have zero experience in à

Before my internship as a Data Analyst, I always doubted my choice because the new I.T role was not within my comfort zone and I was scared of failing. Fast forward several months later, I entered the first day of my internship with such low confidence and self-esteem (since I had no technical skills or previous experience). However, throughout the internship, I acquired two skills to break the barrier between my commerce experience and entering the IT field:

Reach out to people all over the organization: Sharing your goals and experiences with other people will connect you to new opportunities. Regardless of how large or small your company is, every department has an opportunity for you to explore, gain knowledge and share your talent. More importantly, you can never underestimate the impact that one connection can have on your work experience. Always be proactive!

On top of your mandatory projects, ask to re-do some projects that were assigned earlier: When entering a new work environment, it can be easy for us to complain about not being given any direction on what or how to do a project. We’re essentially making excuses to not put in 110% effort into our work. Rather than complaining, reach out to someone with experience and ask to re-do a project they worked on previously. Spend time approaching the task with your own experience and no outside help. Finally, compare the project with your colleague to see the similarities, differences and areas of improvement. Yes, this will take up more time, but this is part of the journey to conquering a new challenge you set for yourself.

2. Achieving personal or professional goals is difficult. Here's how I simplified the process à

No matter how overwhelmed I was at the beginning, I decided to start small and begin investing my time into learning python and SQL. Since I was one of the only interns who did not have much technical experience, it was difficult to stay motivated and keep moving forward, even when I knew I was so behind everyone else. I started to organize my time learning SQL in a series of 7 - day-increments. Every week, I would make a new schedule on what I hoped to achieve and how I will get there. Attached is a basic template with introductory SQL commands that helped me stay persistent with my goals.

With that said, although some degrees are necessary to get a certain job, your passion, experience and skills have equal value. Regardless of where you are in your career, either in second year university, completing your masters or working full time, it is not too late to start from scratch and grow. Don’t let your previous experiences hold you back from what you can achieve in the future. All it takes to start a new journey is confidence, being persistent, and setting goals. Finally, never be afraid of trying something completely new because your passion is the most attractive skill, achievement and qualification on your resume!