Women in IT stories with Akvilina Akstinaite
My career in Cisco began a bit more than 2 years ago. I joined Cisco from Incubator program as part of the Graduates program. This program gave a lot to me – from meeting a lot of new people from a lot of different roles to various technical and personal skills.
During this program I did a rotation in Technical Assistance Center, working as a Technical Consulting Engineer in Data Center Routing & Switching team for 5 months. During those five months I gained more than I could ever imagine in such a short amount of time – how to manage frustration from customer’s side, set expectations, effectively solve problems and trust my instincts.
After the rotation in TAC I started my current role as Consulting Engineer in Data Center Professional Services team. The first project I took was a Business Critical Services project with one of biggest Cisco Premier customers. It is the project that I am working on till now, for more than a year. Before I joined this team I had an impression that BCS projects are not as interesting as Transactional projects. But for me it is more than I could ask for – the customer is big and challenging, the tasks are interesting and the project allows me to be myself and do what I love to do – use my brain.
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What motivated you to join Cisco?
I did learn about Cisco from my friends. And their opinion about the company was only good. From all of their stories I did make an impression that this company has a really big focus on the employees and their wellbeing, people are listened to and actions are taken based on that. A lot of focus is on personal development and the company not only provided the resources for that, but also allows to use work time for it. When I joined Cisco, I was a first year student in my Master’s degree and the company provided all the support needed to successfully finish it – from mental support to time off to prepare for my assignments without any hesitation. I also joined the company during the pandemic – the health and safety of employees was in the first place for Cisco during those uncertain times, there was a lot of effort to make people feel comfortable to work from home and, in my opinion, it was and still is a great success.
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What inspired you to follow a professional path in the tech industry?
I did not initially choose to go to the tech industry. My Bachelor studies were in math, my Master’s is in Data Science and Statistics. But all of this can be applied in all the sectors. From childhood my dream was to be a banker, so while doing my Bachelor’s I was working in financial industry – in a bank, supporting business clients on their daily questions and lending projects. At that point I understood that a bank is not a place for me. Also, during my Bachelor’s I went for Erasmus. The program I attended had a lot of subjects regarding data science. And this was when the love for data started. After my Bachelor’s I came to study for my Master’s in Portugal. I knew that I would need to work, and data science can be applied in any industry. Although I started in a role which does not have anything related to data science – Cisco is such a big company, with so many career opportunities, that I just wanted to start somewhere and then grow inside of the company to reach my desired role (which I am still figuring out what it is :D).
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What is like being a woman in the tech industry?
One thing that I am glad about being part of Cisco – I never feel a distinguishment either I am a woman or a man. My ideas are appreciated at the same level as any man’s ideas, and I have all the same opportunities as everyone else. I do not know if it is like this in all tech industry companies, but Cisco did give me this kind of experience. The same is coming from customer’s side – the respect comes irrespective of your gender from the company and from its customers.
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Who is your inspiration?
My inspiration are my goals and dreams. Understanding that I am the only obstacle in reaching whatever I desire in my life gives me inspiration and motivation to work for it. I do not believe in luck, I do not believe that successful and happy people reached all what they have because of luck. I believe that everything requires work – hard work. And that is my inspiration.
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What advice would you give to other women who are starting their careers in the tech industry?
I think an advice should be given only when it is asked for, so I will not give one. I can only say that trusting yourself and knowing what you want and why you want it is what keeps you going, As I said before – the only obstacle in achieving whatever the person desires is the person itself. When we stop looking for excuses and explanations – we start thriving. So, I will only wish for every person, woman or man, to just enjoy the ride!
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