Words of wisdom from Googlers… and a rally car driver!
Hello Rowena, Adam, Alice, Marissa, Kara, Rama and Roshni at Google! Hearing about your journeys and pathways really showed us how much pursuing what you believe in, and care about, matters. Powerful insights from our panel: Alice – a fresh CS grad who joined Google a few months ago, Marissa – an undergraduate intern in her last year of studies, Rama – PhD student intern in hardware development, Kara – who pivoted from her arts background and taught herself coding, and Roshni – who started in coding young and now works on Waymo! What a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, we so wish we had heard this advice when we were in school, so en pointe!
“Don’t let anything stop you doing what you want to do.”
“Embrace failure! Celebrate failure! Learn from failures and try again, never be afraid of failure.”
“Don’t be intimidated by the people around you – it’s not just about being smart but effort matters too.”
“Starting something new, you might feel like you’re behind but this is ok and you will catch up!”
“Don’t use the word lucky: you earned your place here!”
“In discouraging environments, push through and find the people like you.”
“You can pivot anytime, you’ll be ok!”
So many takeaways from today, and more learnings in the discussion about mentoring and sponsorship: what’s the difference, you ask? In Australia, sponsorship (or champions) isn’t as well-known an activity as mentoring. You might have a few mentors to help guide you and your career with advice, but sponsors create and put you forward for opportunities – a career champion, if you will! Having both really gives your studies and career a push forward, and it’s never too early to ask and start!
Today’s fun fact:
“I was one of the top rally car drivers in the UK. In under 30 seconds, I can change a tire.”
Which one of our Tech Girls team chaperones said this? Superheroes all round! Tune in tomorrow to find out…