From Animal Technologist to IT Manager
Four years ago, terms like ping, AD, DFS, and PIM were foreign to me. Today, I manage the internal IT service desk at Zealand Pharma. How did I get here?
Starting point
I started working at Zealand Pharma in 2009. Freshly out of school, I had just finished training as an animal technologist and was looking forward to my first job.
I’ve always intuitively been able to understand most IT things relatively fast. As the years went by, I became the go-to person to talk to IT when we needed help in the animal facilities. If the scales did not connect to the computer, or if new IT systems were implemented in our daily work, I was often involved in some capacity.
Eventually, this task was even added to my job description – I was responsible for IT within the animal facilities.
Time passed and in spring 2020 Zealand Pharma moved to new buildings. Moving animal facilities is a complex process, so for a couple of months, we all interned in other departments. The obvious choice for me was IT – I knew the people and had the interest.
I started with small tasks like changing IP addresses, writing user guides, and handling simple tickets. I soon got involved with SharePoint and Teams, conducting user training and managing our intranet.
Embracing IT
After the internship, I realized my passion for IT. A split role was created for me, combining IT and laboratory responsibilities. When people asked, I always denied planning to go full-time IT – I was an animal technologist.
However, managing two roles did become stressful, and in October 2021, I had to admit that I loved IT and transitioned to a full-time service desk technician.
Becoming a manager
The last 4 years have been full of learning and growth. I can now onboard new users. I can fix a mouse that is not connecting. I can move thousands of files from one place to another. Managing the tech in an all-staff meeting? No problem is too big or small for service desk, and no days are the same.
But just as important, I have learned how to communicate with people. How to talk in front of crowds. How to connect with people.
How to not be afraid of asking for help if I feel unsure. And how to not give up.
This year I was asked to become a manager. I am truly humbled to be given this responsibility.
There are still days where I feel like I have no clue what I am doing. There are days where I wonder how I even add value to the team. I sit there as the lone woman between all these smart IT guys who have been doing IT all their lives. But in IT we have a team of fantastic people. Everyone knows something different and if you just ask, they are eager to share their knowledge. We all learn something new every day.
And to see the smiles from users you were able to help? That is why I do this.
