Sylvia Mbugua had dreams of becoming a doctor in her childhood. However, the 24-year-old now finds herself being one of the African Women in Technology: Life after AWIT.
So, what does Sylvia do in the tech world?
“I work as a support and infrastructure engineer at Sawasawa.com Limited,” Sylvia says, “This means I take phone calls and write emails to provide solutions to customer problems. I also ensure that computers work properly.”
Being in tech is demanding, yet Sylvia has managed to make it work. The 24-year-old says that making time is key to the perfect balance.
“I maintain a balance by planning and making time for both, so, the evenings and weekends are dedicated to my personal life,” she says. This plan is what makes her able to balance her work and other roles in her life, as Sylvia plans for everything to ensure nothing is neglected.
Hobbies
“I like to do DIY sewing projects and hope to make a business out of it. I also like to bake with my sister and have done it for the big family occasions like birthdays.”
As a woman in tech, Sylvia has encountered biases from all corners, but the 24-year old has stood her ground.
“Yes, I have,” Sylvia says on encountering biases, “But I overcome it by standing my ground, especially when offering support to clients on phone.”
She would not leave the job for anything, describing the fact that it never gets boring in tech as one reason why she enjoys the field so much.
“You learn and experience something new every day and there are new challenges every other day which give way to new innovations and inventions.”
As one of the African Women in Technology, there is no doubt that Sylvia is someone that many young women are looking up to. Her presence in tech is a testament to all the young women coming up that they too, can break into male-dominated spaces. And Sylvia has a word of advice for women entering male-dominated spaces.
“You’ve got this,” she says, “Do not let the fact that it is a male-dominated field dim your shine and determination, and as time goes by, we are seeing more women in the male-dominated fields, be it blue-collar or white-collar job. Women are slowly coming up.”
And there you have it, wise words from Sylvia Mbugua, a female techie making big moves in the tech world.
