E18 - Medina Aganovic at SPAR ICS

On today’s episode of our women in tech spin-off series, we were joined by our host Maddy Norris and Medina Aganovic, Service Owner & Deputy Team Lead of Network Technologies at SPAR ICS. During today’s episode, the ladies discuss some pressing topics that are occurring in the industry at the moment. Medina talks about her experience in the tech industry being a woman and the challenges that have come with that. She also delves into the technology she has been impressed with currently and what she’s doing with that.

Medina’s passion for informatics and technology started at a young age. She always wanted to do something with her hands, whether it was getting the cables to plug in or checking if everything was working fine. She was always interested in networking, and as she grew older, her interest in technology only intensified.

Medina was fortunate enough to have a few women on her course when she pursued economics with a speciality in IT. However, she soon realised that these women were no longer working in the IT industry. Despite this, she remained undeterred and pursued her passion for technology. Her family’s tech-savviness inspired her to pursue a career in the tech industry.

After finishing school, Medina landed a job directly with an IT company with emergency services as the first line of support. She moved to the second line after just two weeks. Six months later, she decided to attend university while still working full-time. She applied for an info tech and system management course, where she found herself surrounded by men in suits and real IT guys. She came in with pink jeans and a floral t-shirt, which made her stand out in the room.

Balancing it all…

Despite the challenges she faced, Medina believed in herself and her capabilities. She knew she had practical experience, and even though she didn’t study for the course, she was confident she could handle it. She balanced her full-time job and studies, only having Fridays and Saturdays to focus on her degree. Her studies helped her to back up the practical side of things and taught her to work on her stress levels and resilience.

Being a woman in tech…

Medina’s journey to getting where she is now was not without its challenges. She encountered biased behaviour in the industry, particularly in some of the former places she worked at. Reflecting back, she realised that she needed to grow and change her behaviours to fit into the male-dominated culture of the industry.

Medina’s advice to women who want to succeed in the tech industry is to start by getting their basic homework done. It’s essential to learn about routing and switching and the basics of networking and programming. Once you have a solid foundation, you can start exploring the higher layers of technology.

She also advises women to be curious and not hesitate to ask questions. In a field that is constantly evolving, it’s crucial to stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies. Being disruptive and staying disruptive is also important, as it can lead to new ideas and innovations.