Turn it Off and Turn it Back On 

If your computer isn’t working, turn it off and turn it back on. A good old-fashioned restart never hurt anyone. Don’t click on mysterious links asking you to buy gift cards or promising a free trip that you miraculously won. Never share your passwords and be careful watching movies on questionable websites. That’s about all I knew about cybersecurity and IT before starting my new job with a managed security service provider. 

But let’s back up a little bit. I graduated from Towson University with a major in Spanish, two minors in International Studies and Philosophy, and absolutely no idea what I wanted to do for work after graduation. That all changed when I got a phone call from a recruiter telling me that she had found my LinkedIn profile and had a job in mind that she thought I would be a great fit for. The job was to be the administrative assistant to the President and CEO of Klik Solutions, an international IT company that specializes in providing managed IT services, cybersecurity, and cloud solutions to their many customers all over the world. This led to me nervously sitting in a Zoom interview in the living room of my college apartment, and later meeting with said CEO for my final interview later the same day. I remember how easy it felt talking to him, as I looked out the window at the inviting view of the inner harbor as the sailboats went by. I remember thinking, I could really see myself here. Then, when he mentioned the two company boats and the unlimited paid time off, I made the decision. I must work here. Little did I know that on the drive home from my interview with the CEO, I would get the call that all post-grads who’ve been endlessly scrolling on LinkedIn hope for. I got the job! 

As a new member of the team, it feels like I’ve been learning something new every day and getting to know some of the warmest, most intelligent and interesting IT experts in the field. I feel that as an assistant to the boss, I’ve been able to learn from and observe pretty much every department while sitting in on meetings and quickly googling the plethora of acronyms that are used daily. It’s no secret that the tech industry has been historically male-dominated, but I strongly believe that an important factor leading to this imbalance comes from the jargon used in discussing IT services and what they really mean. We need experts and specialists to share their knowledge and opinions, but if only a certain group of men can understand it, access to the IT world becomes increasingly small. Here’s where I come in. 

Hi! I’m TechBarbie. I’m here to share everything I’m learning as a woman in IT, in a language that can be clearly understood by IT experts and by people like me who just turn it off and turn it back on until it works. Following the release of the Barbie movie, I think it’s important to note that Barbie went to the moon before women in the United States could open a credit card in their own name. Barbie has pushed the limits of what a woman was thought to be capable of for generations. Her ability to conquer any role while keeping her outfits on point and her lips perfectly glossed has inspired the woman I am today. During my first week, I was asked to pick out a headset to be worn during meetings. While many of the headsets in the office were black or grey, some quick searching on Amazon brought me to the perfect pair. A Barbie pink headset. In that moment, TechBarbie was born.  

I will do everything in my power to learn as much as I can about all the services we offer and what managed IT could be. I promise to stay true to myself, never losing the feminine touch and unbeatable work ethic that’s made Barbie an iconic figure for all these years. I hope that in reading my blog you’ll be inspired to learn new things about IT and challenge the expectations you have for yourself and what you’re capable of. You don’t have to be an IT expert to read and enjoy TechBarbie. Use this information to be and do anything you imagine. Welcome to TechBarbie!