Page 8 - BusinessWest January 10, 2022

quickly excited about how the company helps other businesses — keeping networks secure, creating efficiencies, finding budget-friendly solutions for clients, and the like. She sees the wide variety of work available in IT, and the rela- tionship-centered focus of much of it, and has thought about why more women aren’t plugging in to these careers.
the door.”
Zoe Alfano got her foot in the door as a col-
lege student at UConn, where she had her eyes on an engineering degree but began working in campus tech support and realized she was good at solving problems. With four years of that work experience in hand, she was hired by Paragus as a client support engineer. She cited a couple of
Constant Change
When they do try, Alfano said, they find that it’s a field that’s constantly evolving, with always something new to learn.
“There’s such a wealth of knowledge, it’s impossible to be a jack of all trades, with so many things to specialize in. A network manager can prevent attacks. A technician like me is good at solving day-to-day issues but might not be as good at solving network-related issues. There are so many different things to know about and learn, and you always have an opportunity to learn something new and choose where want to go.”
That can be appealing for women who love learning and working collaboratively, she added — and, often, helping people.
“You’re able to say, ‘hey, I can help with
your issue,’ and if you value getting a positive response from someone, that’s a big reason to stick with the field. You talk on the phone, and they’re so grateful their problem isn’t happening anymore. It just makes you feel good.”
LeBrun finds a gratifying challenge in how quickly IT changes.
“Even just the technology we support — 10 years ago, every company had a server. Now servers are dying; everyone’s going to the cloud,” she noted. “So we always need to adapt, always need to change, and that’s one of the aspects
I love about it. The industry is not stagnant. There’s always something to learn, new technol- ogy to adapt and bring to our clients.”
Beverly Benson, IT and Security program director at Bay Path University, first became interested in the field when her own informa-
“Solving a problem with a piece of technology isn’t a whole lot different than figuring out what’s wrong with the stove when it’s not working, or solving a math problem.”
ZOE ALFANO
“Part of it is the stereotype,” LeBrun said, echoing Hoffman’s thoughts. “It’s always been this predominantly male industry, and it’s some- thing that’s taken women a little while to get into. There’s almost a stigma around it, that it’s this geeky industry, it’s the gamers that get into it, but people aren’t seeing there’s so much more to it.”
For instance, “it can attract somebody who wants to solve problems, and also create effi- ciencies, even someone who wants to go into management — there are just so many different aspects. There’s a lack of awareness around that, and the ways that women — and even men — can learn and get that education, get that foot in
reasons why women don’t follow a similar path. “It depends a lot on the person, their expe- rience. They might not have been exposed, or
didn’t have someone in their lives say, ‘try it out, you might be good at it.’ Or, some people just don’t consider themselves technical; they think they’re not good at it. But they might be good
at problem-solving, and solving a problem with a piece of technology isn’t a whole lot different than figuring out what’s wrong with the stove when it’s not working, or solving a math prob- lem. Some people might be better than they anticipate, but don’t have the opportunity to try.”
Thank you to our members for your continued support. We wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year!
Rick Sullivan, President & CEO
www.WesternMassEDC.com
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BusinessWest