It’s not a surprise that more and more people are successfully settling in the IT industry. Even if a career in IT seems challenging, the variety of opportunities to grow and the final result of the hard work motivates people to switch their jobs and try. The story of Ieva Ruškytė – Jasinskienė, currently the Senior Business Analyst at “EIS Group,” is similar.
She had a great career in banking – Ieva worked in various positions and successfully climbed the career ladder. Everything changed once she tried to lead the IT project. New opportunities and a taste of successful final results changed her career path in a different direction. Learn more about how Ieva found herself in IT and what inspires her to do more and more every day.
Can you tell us more about your current position? What are you responsible for?
I currently work as a Senior Business Analyst at “EIS Group.” EIS is a global software company that creates solutions for insurers.
My job is to improve high-level documentation – I need to add as many details to the description of the feature as possible, so it would be very apparent what it has to do. Developers then can effortlessly implement it. Afterward, the description of the feature becomes important again because quality assurance engineers check whether everything that has been developed is working exactly as described. After this process, I do my share of testing because I’m the owner of the feature. I’m quite a part of the whole development process.
“ While working as a credit analyst, I got a chance to lead a project where the final goal was to create an IT system. I found this work very interesting, challenging, and rewarding.”
How did you end up in the IT industry? What did you do before?
For most of my career, I worked in banks: as a credit analyst, sales analyst, reporting analyst, etc. While working as a credit analyst, I got a chance to lead a project where the final goal was to create an IT system. I found this work very interesting, challenging, and rewarding. I got the opportunity to try out different roles in IT: it was my first attempt at writing requirements, the first attempt to lead a project, and my first attempt to test what has been implemented by the developers.
“ Sometimes writing requirements might seem a little bit tedious, but seeing everything come to the flesh is a wonderful feeling.“
What was missing in your work as a Credit Analyst? Why was the IT industry so inspiring for you?
I would not put it like that. I don’t think that anything was really missing. But when I had a chance to do something different, I found it more exciting and engaging, and it was a great pleasure to see how the system is getting its shape. I think it’s very rewarding to see the actual result of your work. Before that project, I really didn’t think too much about the IT industry, although my brother is a developer. I always thought that my brother was working on cool stuff, but only when I got a chance to taste it myself, I thought that I could be a part of it too. Sometimes writing requirements might seem a little bit tedious, but seeing everything come to the flesh is a wonderful feeling.
“ I think it’s crucial to allow yourself to make mistakes and ask a stupid question or two. I was lucky that I could learn everything in such an atmosphere.“
How did you gain the skills needed for your first position in IT?
I gained the required skills for my position by working. I don’t think it’s a big secret how great things happen. You just have to do them. Of course, I feel stressed again and again, every new project is challenging, so support from colleagues and managers is very important. And I had that when I started in IT. But still, most of the learning happens by doing: by trying and making mistakes. I think it’s crucial to allow yourself to make mistakes and ask a stupid question or two. I was lucky that I could learn everything in such an atmosphere. If I had a chance to participate in a program such as “Women Go Tech,” I’m sure that would have made the transition much easier, and I would have had more confidence.
How did you find the courage to change your career? Did you encounter any issues or challenges?
I don’t think that I needed courage. I mean that I had this big dream and direction. Yes, maybe I needed the courage to go to the first interview. But after that, the wish and the direction drove me. Starting my career as a Business Analyst (BA) in IT seemed quite doable because of my banking experience. Of course, domain knowledge was needed for the position (as it’s still a rule in the FinTech industry). I was given an opportunity to learn the required skills for Business Analyst on the fly. So these were the biggest challenges and an excellent chance to prove myself.
“ Regarding the hard skills, BAs have to master some tools, SQL knowledge is required, logical thinking, process thinking abilities, drawing diagrams, etc. But I think the most important are the soft skills, and especially one – communication.“
What kind of skills (including hard and soft) are needed in your position?
Actually, all the skills I learned previously proved very useful. In various positions, while working as an analyst, I learned to split a big matter into small pieces in order to see the pattern of a bigger picture. It’s very similar to a BA’s work, except maybe it works in a different direction.
Regarding the hard skills, BAs have to master some tools, SQL knowledge is required, logical thinking, process thinking abilities, drawing diagrams, etc. But I think the most important are the soft skills, and especially one – communication. BAs have to get the information from the client about what the system has to do, what task to perform, what it has to display, what reports to produce, with what other systems to communicate. Then the BA has to take that information and put it into a form or format of some kind for other people to process and understand exactly how the client conveyed it. BAs also must have a strong sense of ownership and be responsible for their part during the whole process.
“ Change is never easy, but it’s worth it.”
Do you have any advice for women thinking about a career in the IT industry?
Yes! Do it! You have to start somewhere, so why not start now and here, where you are? If you don’t know where to start, it’s easier to find your way when we have such a program as “Women Go Tech,” where you can learn skills and also get a hand to hold on your way. Change is never easy, but it’s worth it.
