1. What is your name?

Hayret Abdula

2. Where do you work and what is your role/job title?

Outsourcing Partner Plc. in Poland as a Functional Website Analyst and Strategist

3. What were the main ‘career decision’ milestones in your life so far?

Deciding to do a Research Masters in Computer Science (Web Development) and applying for a Young Graduate Trainee (YGT) position in Web Analytics with the European Space Agency in Italy (ESA)

4. Who are the people who most influenced your career direction?

My masters supervisor in UCC and my YGT supervisors in ESA

5. Does your job allow you to have a lifestyle you are happy with?

My job allows me a lot of flexibility on a day to day basis and offers me the chance to grow both on a professional and personal level.

6. How did you go about getting your current job?

I was approached about the available position upon finishing my YGT training in ESA.

7. Describe a typical day

Days can vary widely. I am based in Cork, but travel to Warsaw (Poland) regularly. Most days I work in front of a computer preparing documents. From time to time I have to travel in order to meet clients. This week, for example, I was in Geneva and got to visit the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) which was exciting.

8. What are the main tasks and responsibilities?

Preparing wireframes and mock ups for websites, preparing proposal documents, liaising with our main client which is ESA about current projects or attending meetings

9. What are the main challenges?

Combining creativity and technical know-how to produce a usable and intuitive website solution. Simplifying satellite data dissemination for online users.

10. What’s cool?

Visiting new places, learning about satellite data and how it can benefit new people, being creative with graphical user interfaces (GUI)

11. What’s not so cool?

Sometimes there are long days.

12. What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?

Technical background in web development and analytics, experience working in a multinational organisation such as ESA, research skills and problem solving

13. What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

Maths, English, German, Biology, Art and Chemistry. I think the subject which I enjoyed most, and which influenced my career path was Maths. I think it shaped the way I think and make decisions in my day to day life.

14. What is your education to date?

Bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Taught Masters in Interactive Media through Computer Science

Research Masters in Computer Science – all completed in UCC, Cork.

15. What aspects of your education have proven most important for your job?

My two masters have proven very helpful in my chosen career. My civil engineering bachelor’s degree has improved my problem-solving skills.

16. Have you undertaken, or do you plan to undertake any further training as part of your job?

Not in the immediate future, however I would be interested in learning more about data acquisition and processing for satellites.

17. What have been the most rewarding events in your career so far?

Witnessing a rocket launch in Kiruna, Sweden and attending the Living Planet Symposium in Prague, Czech Republic.

18. What personal qualities do you have that help you in your career?

Ability to relate to people from many backgrounds and general curiosity.

19. What is your dream job?

I could think of a lot of jobs I would enjoy. A job where at the end of most days I can think to myself this was a good day.

20. What advice would you give to someone considering this job?

My educational background allowed me a lot of flexibility and choice. Choose subjects that interest you, but also challenge you. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what you like, but it may be easier to know what you don’t.

21. What are the three most important personal characteristics required for the job?

Technical and logical mindset, creativity, interpreting requirements

22. What kinds of work experience would provide a good background for this position?

Web development experience, research and experience in web analytics, internet based applications and human computer interaction