Miranda is an Infrastructure Engineer at Fundaments. While women remain underrepresented in IT in 2023, Miranda is noticing that this is slowly changing. In this article, she shares how she knew from a young age that she wanted to do "something with computers" and how she eventually ended up at Fundaments after various studies and jobs.
"I was immersed in the world of IT from a young age. My father was a database administrator and brought home the first computers back then. Whenever he got a new computer, I got his old one." While the average 10-year-old used a computer for games, Miranda was interested in the technical side. Miranda: "I often took these computers apart and put them back together to see if they would still work. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to do 'something with computers' later on."
"In the third year of secondary school, I had to do a work experience placement. It was clear to me that it had to be at an IT company. After the placement, every student had to record a video about their experience. It was noticeable that most of the other kids struggled to fill a minute, while I still had plenty to say after 10 minutes about how cool my internship was."
A few years later, Miranda started a program for System, Network, and Application Administration in Almelo (ROC van Twente). She was able to fast-track this, finishing in just 2.5 years. Miranda: "I started at the company where my father worked. I really enjoyed working there. Later, I started at QL-ICT as a support engineer, where I learned to explain IT problems simply and solve them remotely with the customer." But Miranda wanted more and realized she needed a higher education degree for the roles she found interesting. Miranda: "I went back to school: HBO-ICT at Saxion in Enschede. During my studies, a lecturer (Theo Lansink) asked if I wanted to manage Saxion's cloud environment. That was my first encounter with VMware."
After stints at Previder and Lesscher, Miranda eventually ended up at Fundaments, where she has been happily working for over 5.5 years. Miranda: "Especially in the beginning, I noticed that customers weren't used to having a female engineer on the line. I was even asked once if 'a man' could come to the phone. As time goes on, that has changed. Within the team, I've fortunately never heard such comments, and I'm not seen as 'the only woman,' but just as a team member like everyone else. Sometimes there are off-color jokes, and if it goes too far, I speak up. I'm also often told that a woman brings a good dynamic to the team. I've been working at Fundaments for over 5.5 years now and hope to grow further here. The work I do suits me incredibly well and remains challenging. To young girls who want to pursue an IT education, I would say: it's a fantastic profession. Don't let the 'man's world' image hold you back; just be yourself and don't change because others expect you to!"
