Mandy Marsden has worked in IT for three decades, and has seen plenty change in that time.
Gone are the days of big chunky monitors and dial up but as the technology has evolved, so have the challenges that Mandy and her teams face.
Mandy herself admits that she fell into the tech industry 30 years ago when she started out as a PA to two IT directors.
Since then her career has progressed through a range of roles managing help desks and service desks and as a territory manager before joining Everything Tech as Service Delivery Manager in April 2021.
On her role, Mandy said: “I went to work at 16 in an entry level position and I have worked hard and progressed ever since. Although I fell into the tech industry, once I was in, I loved it.
“I really enjoy what I do managing the helpdesk as well as looking after customer relationships. It’s my job to make sure our customers receive a fantastic service, with a focus on providing the best customer service possible. I get a lot of satisfaction when something is fixed for a customer.
“As your role gets bigger the problems you’re working on get bigger. At times in my career I’ve been dealing with major incidents. You’re doing a swan act – you’ve got all these people wanting to know what you’re going to do and you just have to keep calm.”
When Mandy first started out in the tech industry, it was very male-dominated, and to a certain extent, still is, however, she has always felt equal and feels bringing a woman into a mostly male environment brings a different dynamic.
She said: “It was very strange. The gender pay gap was quite prevalent 30 years ago, but I’ve always been treated equally. I’ve had a strong voice and I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunities to voice my opinion. As such, I’ve always felt like I’ve had an equal say.”
While more and more women and girls are getting into the tech sector, Mandy would like to see even more: “I’d absolutely love to see more women and girls. I’m currently exploring ways of providing some mentoring to try and help that happen.
“I don’t necessarily believe there are obstacles for women entering the tech sector, I just think for many it doesn’t appeal. Maybe as an industry we need to look at how we better and more effectively sell ourselves to women and girls.”
And if she had one piece of advice for a woman or girl interested in getting into the sector?
“Go for it. Absolutely just go for it.”
