Carrie Hanna is a Site Reliability Engineer at Bazaarvoice Belfast. Her piece of advice for anyone considering a job in the technology industry: "Start from somewhere that has meaning to you and steer from there. Find what you enjoy. All of your knowledge will weave into a tapestry of your skillset. The communities are welcoming, informative, helpful, fun and want to meet you."
Working in an industry full of opportunities
A Chemistry graduate from Liverpool University and a former nuclear safety science consultant, Carrie has always wanted to work in tech, an industry she describes as "huge" with "lots of different roles and opportunities".
Now, she is a successful STEM learning professional and co-founder of a STEM ed-tech company, working with cloud infrastructure on AWS & Kubernetes platforms with a wide range of tooling.
Inspired by teaching in STEM education
Local people in the technology ecosystem inspired Carrie to work in this field. "The seed was planted in the experience of having a computer of my own when I was 12, breaking it and having to fix it! Since then, tech was a hobby. Several decades later, relocating back to Northern Ireland and the burgeoning technology sector was fertile ground for that early seed to sprout," she explains.
"I was teaching adult students returning to STEM education to follow their dreams and they inspired me to move to Belfast to find out more. The engineers I met through the Catalyst & technology meetups built my confidence and the Women in Technology circle gave me the wisdom and support network I needed to commit! Now I’m rooted in infrastructure and DevOps and I am happy tree!"
Taking on technical challenges every day
For Carrie, "the people, culture, and the role" inspired her to join Bazaarvoice.
In her role at the company, Carrie investigates, solves and documents the solutions of events that are outside the desired conditions set for monitoring and alerting on Bazaarvoice platforms. She is also responsible for the Engineering new hire onboarding process, which she describes as "continuously improving".
Every day at Bazaarvoice presents a technical challenge coupled with individual and collaborative learning, while she most enjoys "helping people by gaining knowledge and insights through solving puzzles".
Finally, Carrie explains how Bazaarvoice's technology impacts our lives: "Authentic reviews and ratings contribute to an authentic relationship between companies and their customers. This proximity and trust drives creation of products that better meet our needs living in a rapidly transforming world."
And the gadget Carrie herself could not live without? "Easy - my laptop," she says.
Work alongside technology experts like Carrie at Bazaarvoice
The technology industry truly is rich with opportunities, particularly for women with Carrie's passion and drive.
Find these opportunities at Bazaarvoice by checking out the company's latest job vacancies.
Find out more
Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.