Gemma currently works in a testing role within the Solutions Validation team at Cisco Systems, involved in projects with financial customers, building replica networks, writing and running test cases, and analysing the results. Her career highlights to date have been delivering her first independent project and completing exams for Cisco certifications.
“Coming from a non-technical background, the exams have been challenging, but I found that once I got to work with the equipment, my knowledge snowballed and everything started to make sense. It’s been great getting that certificate of achievement marking what I’ve done and where I’ve got to,” she says.
Route to engineering
Gemma’s route into engineering is a remarkable one.
“I spent a couple of years studying statistics at university and had a few setbacks along the way, so had to withdraw,” she says. “I started working at McDonalds, and it was there that I came across apprenticeships.
“I completed an intermediate apprenticeship and it got me thinking that there are apprenticeships out there, I just need to find the right one for me.
“I had always had a strong passion for maths and various people suggested engineering to me. So I did some research on what it involves and became interested in opportunities in IT.”
Outreach work
Keen to share her experiences with others, Gemma has got involved in various STEM outreach activities. She has contributed to Cisco’s industry days and work experience weeks for students and has spoken about technology careers at local schools and colleges.
“I was involved in one project that Cisco ran in conjunction with a local university technical college,” she says. “The students’ task was to design what they thought a classroom of the future would be like and put Cisco technologies into it. It was so fun and really interesting to see the ideas the students came up with.”
Receiving the Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices
As the winner of the 2016 Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices, Gemma feels she is in an even better position to ‘get the word out’ on both the work of the IET and the huge opportunities within STEM roles.
“I want to be able to showcase what I’ve achieved in a STEM career from nothing. I didn’t have technical experience and now I’m considered the most technical apprentice in my year group. So I just want to make young people realise that anything is possible!
“Getting into a STEM role means you are at the forefront of progress. You’re able to create, innovate, design and do amazing things that will actually shape the future.”
Updated November 2018