Taking a detour: How Saskia switched to a career in IT
From psychology to technology: Saskia Busch on bootcamps, hurdles and her great passion IT
Studies
Saskia was 21 years old when she moved from her hometown of Kiel to Hamburg to study psychology. She followed up her bachelor's degree with a master's - like you do. During her studies, she specialized in economics. To gather knowledge in the field, she completed several internships and took on working student jobs in the HR departments of a wide variety of companies. "When I finished my master's, my last internship in organizational development also ended and I realized: this is just not me. I didn't feel like I had arrived," the 29-year-old reflects. And because she had always enjoyed analytical work and scientific programming in her studies, Saskia felt a growing desire for a change.
Turning point
"What do I really want? Where do I want to go?". These were the questions Saskia often asked herself at that time. And then the idea came to her: "I had already been able to gain some experience in HR, but something was missing. So why not combine my HR knowledge with my passion for IT?" And with that, Saskia dove head first into the world of technology, initially programming privately and for herself. After taking her first online courses, she took part in Informatica Feminale in 2020, a summer study program specifically for women in IT. Saskia's program included basic courses on the JAVA programming language and app development - and Saskia quickly realized that this is exactly the right place for her.
So it's no surprise that a short time later she signed up for a twelve-week coding boot camp to gain further technical skills. And this is where it happened: "The bootcamp was both challenging and exciting. And above all, I quickly realized that I no longer just wanted to work in an interface, but as a full-on developer," Saskia remembers. There were mixed feelings from her private environment with regard to her decision to gain a foothold in the IT world: "Of course, I received a lot of support. But there were also people who put me in the psychology drawer. And for them, that was incompatible with IT."
But Saskia took the risk and sent in her application for a junior position in IT at OTTO.
The bootcamp was both challenging and exciting. It made me realize that I no longer wanted to work only in an interface, but as a full-on developer.
Passion
Her application goes went out in spring of 2021, and a short time later she went through various coding challenges and interviews in the application process. Her IT skills convinced her team and she took up a position as a junior software developer in IT logistics in March 2021. Here, she has been taking care of incoming goods on the software side and is also in close contact with OTTO's warehouses, to ensure that OTTO, its partners and the warehouses can keep track of orders and goods. With a great deal of motivation and curiosity, Saskia was able to quickly learn the ropes and meet the requirements of the job,,.
Her team also did a lot to make her feel at home from day one: "As a career changer, I was warmly welcomed and taken seriously right from the start. In addition, the team took a lot of time to train me," Saskia recalls.
If you ask Saskia how it feels to work in an IT department as a career changer, the answer is: "It's a good feeling! I already had practical knowledge to build on, but I'm still learning every day - even a year later," laughs the 29-year-old.
All's well that ends well
Looking back, Saskia has no regrets about her studies, quite the opposite: "I'm happy about my career. Everything turned out exactly as it was supposed to in the end. By the way, most of my colleagues from the coding camp succeeded in making a lateral move into IT. Some sooner, some later. But if you're motivated and enjoy programming, it can work," says Saskia, who also wants to motivate others to pursue their passion for IT - albeit sometimes in a roundabout way.
