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12 | InTouch SPRING 2025 THEY GAVE ME A SHOT, AND THAT WAS ALL I NEEDED March 9, 2005. I will never forget that day. I felt like I was floating from pure joy. It was one of the happiest days of my life. FEATURE That was the day I started my first job in tech. It was a 6-month contract Oracle Sys Admin role I landed through a temp agency. I wasn’t the original hire. The person they actually hired pulled out at the last minute, and the company urgently needed someone to cover their Sys Admin's 6-month sabbatical. She trained me for 3 days before going on her holiday. Yes, only 3 days! So they gave me a shot. And that was all I needed. To be honest, I didn’t even fully understand what the job involved. Like most fresh grads, I applied to countless roles after finishing university and faced just as many rejections. I went to some interviews where, from the expression on the interviewer’s face when they saw me, I already knew the answer was a no. I checked most, if not all, of the minority boxes. Disabled. Ethnic. Female. And probably a few more. In a male-dominated field, I just didn’t “fit the mold.” After facing so many rejections, when this temp opportunity came up, I just said yes. I didn’t overthink it. I just knew I had to start somewhere. I had a student loan to pay off and I was sick of being poor. My work was basic at first. I mainly reset user passwords (yes, this was before the days of “Forgot your password?” links), answered basic Oracle support calls, and helped users troubleshoot issues. You’d be amazed how many people called just to get back into their accounts. It wasn’t glamorous work, but I treated it like gold. I showed up every day with the mindset that this was my opportunity and I gave it everything I had. I showed up, worked hard, and stayed curious. A week later, I attended my university graduation ceremony and I remember feeling incredibly proud. I wheeled across the graduation stage in my noisy PT2000 electric wheelchair with my head held high. Out of all my friends, I was one of the few who had landed a job only a few months after finishing Uni. It may not have been fancy, but it was mine and it was the beginning of something bigger. A day to remember That chance was all I needed. After 6 months, they saw the value I brought and offered me a permanent role. I was beyond happy. I stayed for seven years at that company. I learnt so many things and got involved in awesome projects. And I’ve now been in the Oracle space for 20 years! I’ve never been the smartest person in the room, but I am one of the most consistent. And consistency, I’ve learned, is what builds a career. Here are 6 lessons I’ve learned in 20 years of tech : 1. Never give up even when the odds are against you. Rejection stings, but it’s not the end, it’s redirection. I lost count of how many jobs I applied for. How many