Did you know what you wanted to be growing up? For me, it was never the case. I kept thinking my entire childhood about possible careers that would suit me, but none of them was exciting enough or doable in my country.
After my baccalaureate, I had no more time left to think and had to choose at last my studies. Thankfully, things turned out well; computer science was and still is the best fit for me. You can follow many possible paths in that field, and most are interesting!
So before I graduated, I tried the options that would give me more chances for an actual job and not as a future researcher. I first tried mobile development for a time, but I felt like I won’t be able to appreciate it as a long-term career other than a hobby. Then I tried to give my all to web development and even worked for a year after graduating in that domain. That year was the exact opposite of what I expected; I was ready to be challenged in my knowledge, but more psychologically challenged.
My first year of work was at a company that had a very toxic work environment. My mistake is that I didn’t ask many questions during the interview since I had some classmates with whom I studied at university working there. As a result, I gradually saw how bad my decision to work there was.
Project management was awful, the way my colleagues were treated was awful, and getting to work was awful. Our boss was the type who would even curse at my colleagues for the slightest inconvenience, the management team would also pressure us to work on weekends and holidays. Being sick or having corona didn’t matter as well. My team was working a minimum of 10 hours daily, sometimes we would finish work at 8 pm (we worked in Cheraga, while we live in Blida, you can imagine the struggle of getting home so late since there is no bus).
It was even more difficult for me as a girl because it’s not safe at night. When winter approached, in October and November 2021, I would wake up every day at 5 am and go out from home at 5:40 am. While people were going for Fadjr prayer, I was waiting for a bus in that darkness. It was scary for me.
Then sometimes, when I got back to Blida, I couldn’t find a bus to take me home, and if my father was working the night shift, I had to find help to get home, and a taxi was too expensive to do that every night. I wondered every day since I started working there if the issue was coming from me, if I was weak, or if I was that type of woman who hated to work. At some point, I considered that being a housewife was much better.
Don’t take me wrong; for me, there is no “correct choice.” Everyone can live their own lives how they see would suit them. And for me, I wanted to work and help my family. I remember one of my colleagues would tell me from time to time in the morning when we get there:” Rym, is this how we’re going to live our lives?” I also remember that the first anxiety attack I had in my life was there.
My heart would always beat fast when we were on the road. Going to work was hell. On weekends, I would be so tired mentally that I wouldn’t even have the energy to have fun. I didn’t have the energy to enjoy life. I could go on and on about my first-year experience as a web developer in that company, but I think you got my message. It is important to make the right choice when you pick a company. Otherwise, you might even start to hate that field. In my case, I couldn’t continue that work anymore, and I resigned on November 11th, 2021.
After that, I didn’t want to do web development anymore. It was over. There was a day after that when I was with a close friend of mine, and both of us were watching videos about other computer science fields since we are very similar, we both thought: “Hey, data analysis seems good!”.
The criteria I needed for my future career is something I am good at, and at the same time, would still give me free time to do my hobbies or even help at home, be able to cook in the evening, etc. As a woman, these are very important criteria, I didn’t want to slack on my duties, and I didn’t want to give up on work either.
With that friend, we started learning about data analysis. We learned together from the Google data analytics certificate in Coursera. We would also learn from YouTube and Udemy. Not only that, but we decided to be consistent and learn every day for at least 1h30 when not possible. It went on like that until February, when we decided that we needed to start applying for jobs. At that time, my goal was to work at Ooredoo. In the meantime, I was creating my portfolio and practicing my learning.
Time passed, and we didn’t get any positive answer from any company. Most companies asked for 3+ years of experience in data analysis while we were juniors. That was the main obstacle, those years of experience… How are you supposed to acquire them if no company accepts juniors? At the end of March, I was bored with waiting. I knew it was just two months of trying, but the years of experience required were stressing me out.
Then I remembered that one of my colleagues once told me about Dash BI. I immediately went to LinkedIn and started looking at their posts to get some ideas about that company, and since it’s in my city, I thought, how about I apply there? So on March 31, I sent a message to their boss on LinkedIn. It was a motivation letter with my portfolio and CV attached, asking for at least an internship if a job wasn’t available.
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To my surprise, his response was positive, and he asked me for an interview for the next week. It was my first ever opportunity, but since my first job was hell, I was scared of falling into the same trap and was ready to ask a million questions this time while taking their answers with a grain of salt. The level of trust I had in companies was at rock bottom then.
Then the interview day came, and I talked for around an hour or more with their CTO. He seemed very reassuring and even pointed out all my concerns before asking about them! Abdelkarim, Mouhamed Mahmoud is a great leader to whom I look up. His knowledge is to be respected, and his management is as well.
The team is friendly, the superiors are friendly, and everyone is talented and serious. During work, everyone does their best, and during lunchtime, it feels like a party almost every day.
Dash is an ambitious company that keeps striving for more without overworking its employees. They ensure that we keep learning while working simultaneously and even invest in our learning by providing us with paid courses.
Since I joined, I have never regretted my decision, and now I don’t dream of Ooredoo; instead, I want this company to grow enough so that other people can have the same opportunity I had. They don’t insult you, they know how to manage projects, they don’t ask you to work overtime, and respect your health above all.
Dash is the exact opposite of the first company I worked at, and even better! I hope all those reading this testimony have the same luck or better luck when pursuing their career.
I hope you won’t give up trying and do your best, create your portfolio and hunt for the job you wish to have!
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Great article!