Womenintech: Yvonne's journey into the IT industry
#Womenintech
Interviewpartner: Yvonne Fuchs – Quality Assurance Agent
Our #womenintech initiative at XXXLdigital aims at setting the stage for women from different teams in our department. This time we had a nice chat with Yvonne Fuchs from our Quality Assurance Team.
1. Hi Yvonne, can you please give us a short summary of your background and your position at XXXLdigital?
Hi, my Name is Yvonne Fuchs, but please call me Yvi ;)
I grew up in Lower Austria and at 13 I went to live in Switzerland for five years. After that I came back to Austria. I was a little helpless trying to figure out what I wanted to work as so I went and tried a couple of things…till I came to XXXLdigital. Since 28 February 2019 I am a member of the Quality Assurance Team, or as we call it Team Koala. My main tasks are to try and find existing bugs in our online shops. I also take care of possible bugs in our online shops that will be launched quite soon. Together with my colleagues, I have to approve new implementations before they go live and I have to make sure that our online shops are kept up-to-date.
2. How did you end up in the IT industry?
When I was 18 years old I did an apprenticeship in IT technology where I worked as an IT supporter but I soon realized that this was not what I wanted. I was wandering around a bit. Eventually, my best friend took me to the Digital Job Day at the “MuseumsQuartier“ in Vienna where I came into contact with XXXLdigital for the first time – or rather: they found me. XXXLdigital was the only company which showed any kind of interest in me and my skills and they contacted me right after the Job Day, which I was very happy about.
3. What do you like most about this industry?
The industry can be difficult for women in particular. Most of the colleagues are male, so it is often not as easy to find your way into it. But if you get lucky you will find an awesome job in an awesome company that supports you and helps you grow further.
4. Which challenges did you face in your career journey?
As I already said, I never quite knew what I wanted to do for a living. It felt like it was a tough choice and I felt a bit lost. I knew that I wanted to work in an office but I had no idea what I wanted to do exactly.
5. Which advice would you give a woman considering a career in IT?
I’d say: stay positive, even if your applications sometimes go unanswered. You have to have a strong will no matter what happens. You have to have the will to succeed and stay positive, and one day fate will be on your side.
6. What do you like most about your job at XXXLdigital?
(Laughs) The better question: what’s there not to like at XXXLdigital?! There is no reason to complain here. We have an amazing office, incredibly nice colleagues, we get fresh fruit, and we even have table tennis at the office. I couldn’t think of a thing I don’t like here. I just love my job with all its surroundings.
Thanks a lot for showing us your journey and all the best for your future challenges at our department, we are glad to have you here!
We already look forward to our next interviews & with more strong #women at XXXldigital, until then, like Yvi says, stay strong & stay positive!
*German version to be found here