Leaving a Navy tech role for a life on the road with Smart CT was a shore thing

My career in tech began in 2020 when I joined the Navy aged 16 and I suppose I couldn't have made a tougher start than going into a male-dominated sector in one of the most male-dominated work environments.

I trained as an engineer responsible for communications and information systems officer, making sure the ship I was on had a radio connection to aircraft, helicopters, other ships and sometimes submarines. I also dealt with the Wi-Fi on board, as well as all the computer systems.

I'd studied computer science at school and although I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with computers, I'm quite good at understanding them. I pick up information quickly and I think I'm good at the job, so I like doing it.

It was quite daunting being in the Navy because I was so young and there were men everywhere. I wanted to put myself out there and show I could do the work but being young and being a woman made it harder.

On my first ship, the frigate HMS Northumberland, there were only four other girls out of 30 people in my department and on my second, the Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Trent, there were three of us out of a department of 20.

There are some people in the Navy, not all of them, who are older and don't like the idea of having women being good at things. I do feel that some people, mostly outside of my department, were watching me to see if I failed so they could say 'I told you this isn't a job for a woman'.

I remember we had a massive problem on the ship, our entire communication system crashed at 2am when I was on duty. I'd had almost two years' service and I knew how to fix it, but I wasn't qualified.

I was the only one awake, so I was trying to fix it by myself, but when someone senior came in they told me to stop because they wanted one of the lads to do it instead of me. Then when the lads got up, they didn't know what they were doing. I was angry because I knew I could fix it but they didn't give me a chance. Was that because I was a woman or because they thought I didn't have the experience? I don't know.

I enjoyed my time in the Navy, my first posting was in Norway and the second in the Caribbean. It's a good life and you get a lot of down time but because of that you spend a lot of money.

I wanted to come home to Essex, I have a dog and I want to save up for a house. I decided I should leave after my five years before the bad bits of the job started to outweigh the good ones and I wanted to have good memories.

I was tempted to go back to college and study to become an electrician but then I came across Ex-Mil Recruitment, and it had a vacancy for a Field Engineer with Smart CT.

I applied and was offered an interview. The people I spoke to were really friendly and I didn't feel like I was having an interview, they made me feel really at ease. It was fantastic. I had a second interview at Smart CT's office and just spoke about what I was doing in the Navy. It went well and now here I am.

I enjoy my work, it is busy but I don't feel as stressed as I did in the Navy. I'll get a phone call or a message asking me to go to a location and find out why a piece of equipment like a router or a switch doesn't work or to replace some equipment. It's similar to what I was doing before, but there's definitely a lot of new stuff, which is fine. I like learning new stuff.

It's very varied, in the early hours of this morning I was in a fast food restaurant, the other day I was at a mental health hospital and a retirement home. I've been in lots of different shops and it's always interesting, always someone new to chat to.

I don't think of myself as an oddity being a woman in a male dominated environment. I don't get any problems about being a woman in the job really, but I don't go looking for them and that's the secret. I turn up with a smile and leave with one. I might have a little shout to myself in the van afterwards but you have to be professional.

When I joined the Navy there weren't a lot of women around but as the years went on, there seemed to be more coming into the work I do, which was really was nice to see. There were more and more women on ships as well, maybe only two or three more of us, but that felt like a lot.

I think tech needs to be made more enticing to women to attract more of them into it and that needs to start in schools and colleges, it's too late after that.

The perception of tech doesn't match the reality and what first enticed me into going it is the fact that it is where the world's going. Tech's evolving a lot faster than we ever expected it to and being involved in that is something I like, it's exciting to be ahead of the curve.

The equipment I was working with in the Navy was old, whereas working with Smart CT and seeing all the new equipment we work with is fantastic. That's where my job satisfaction comes from. It's changing all the time and I like having to keep on top of it.

If I had to give some advice to a young girl going into tech now, I'd say don't expect to be treated any differently from the men and you won't be. Keep your head down until you know the job but then don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. Go in with an open mind and just get on with it. It really is a great job.

And remember, we wouldn't have Wi-Fi without a woman's vision, so we definitely belong here.