Kate Hanley

Kate Hanley

What did you study (at school, college or university)?
Maths undergrad, then statistics masters

How did you get into technology?
I learned how to program at university, then I took a job as a statistical consultant. A big part of that role was not only doing data analysis, but also coding to create data science software and custom visualisations. From then on the line between data scientist and developer started to blur from me, so I moved more and more towards technology and tech companies.

What company do you work for?
Just Eat

What do you do at your current company?
Data Scientist

What advice would you give to girls looking to get into a tech related career?

I wish I had been told that you need to advocate for yourself and ask for the things you need, because your manager isn't a mind reader. I used to worry about asking for things (e.g. training, flexible working) because I thought people would say no and it would reflect badly. I now realise that as long as you ask politely and professionally, that there's no downside to asking. Don't ask don't get!

I love working in technology. I get to work with great people, and solve interesting problems every day. It took me a few years to get to this point (some bad jobs, some figuring out what I wanted to do in the first place), but I'm really happy now. Technology jobs are so varied - from project managers, product owners and data scientists to developers and testers- and almost always in demand, so they are a great place to start your career.