How Did You Get Into Tech – Stacy Wright

The spotlight turns to Stacy Wright this week in our How Did You Get Into Tech blog series.

Where Did your interest in technology start?

My interest in technology started during my junior year in high school. At the time, I was studying Commerical Food Service. Then one day, the printer broke and no one knew how to fix it. I went over and found there was a paper jam that no one could solve. Not having any technical troubleshooting background, I decided to give it a shot resolved the paper jam issues. That is when I became interested to learn about technology.

During the next two years I made an attempt to learn about technology by going to the local library. When I was starting college in the Fall 2000, my mother bought me a computer (E-machines with Windows ME on it) and a CD drive. Without reading the instructions, I was able to assemble my computer and even installed the CD Drive.

What type of educational background do you have?

From there I became more interested in technology, so I enrolled(through trial and error) in various degrees ranging from Legal Assistant to Telecommunications. Neither of the degrees suited me almost to the point that I wanted to drop out. Just before I quit, I found a degree program that was right for me. The degree was called Computer Information Systems: PC Applications Specialist. This was the perfect degree. It took me six years to finish but it was all worth the work.

In 2006, I graduated from Baltimore City Community College with my Associates Degree. Then I applied to University of Baltimore, where I am currently studying Applied Information Technology for my Bachelor’s Degree.

What resources did you use for your tech education (university, community college, meetups, training, online tutorials, MOOC courses with EdX, Udacity and Coursera)?

As I continue learning about technology, I find myself attending webinars, conferences in the National Capital Region, and training sessions where I quickly sharpened my tech skills.

Did you have any mentors, professors, colleagues or supervisors who offered career guidance?

Also, at the time, I really did not have a mentor to guide me on what career, let alone educational paths, I should take. That too took trial and error.

What resources do you find to be the best when continuing your education?

I began to invest in online products such as Udemy, edX, and Cousera among others. Those sites help me a great deal.

If you were to give an individual advice about starting a career in tech, what would you say to them?

If I had to give any advice to the future techies, my advice is to attend tech events. Tech events are where you can get the best advice from experts in the various tech fields. Also, HAVE FUN! Technology is where your imagination can run wild and you can create anything you can set your mind to.