Women in Technology: Meet Lauren

Marissa: Tell us your story on how you got into technology! 

Lauren: I have always been tech savvy and got into mobile technology while working for T-Mobile and Verizon early on in my career. By working as an Enterprise Account Manager with Dataprise on three different technical teams, I gained exposure to many technical terms and processes, and I used that to build my knowledge and understanding of the IT world. 

Marissa: Did you always know that working in technology was what you wanted to do? 

Lauren: I actually didn’t! I’ve always loved writing, and in doing that, was often writing on a computer or mobile device. This led me to become more tech savvy and able to pick up technical processes very easily, peaking my interest in the IT field. 

Marissa: Can you share a little bit about what it is that you do and what a typical day for you is like? 

Lauren: I am the Program Analyst for our Onboarding team and would call myself a jack-of-all-trades. My main responsibilities are coordinating the onboarding projects for new clients and working with my team to manage the new client experience. I also manage our project queue and send reports related to project status, forecast, and revenue to other teams. Because we are the first team to work with new clients, I’m constantly having to think quickly on my feet and manage many things such as scheduling, invoicing, audits, timeline management, client escalations, and training. 

Marissa: What advice would you give to a women considering a career in the tech industry? What do you wish you had known? 

Lauren: I think most women hesitate because they believe they must be extremely technical to get involved in this field. If I had known early on how interesting the IT field is and how much it would take over our day-to-day lives, I would have gone into this field much earlier. I would recommend they start with what they know and build upon it by getting into an entry-level position and working their way up.

Marissa: What do you think is the best part of being a woman in the tech industry? 

Lauren: The best part is that we stand out! It’s a male-dominated field, so women are given more chances to express themselves and bring a different point of view since they are often the only woman in the room.

Marissa: What is it that you enjoy most about your current job at Dataprise? 

Lauren: I love my close-knit team and our clients. We are one of the few teams that touches almost every client that comes to Dataprise for support. We get to work with so many different environments and personalities, which helps us grow and learn a lot. 

Marissa: Where do you see yourself going from here? 

Lauren: I plan to get more technical certifications that will allow me to take on more client management roles, such as Project Manager or Program Manager. My role now has some similarities to both of those roles, so I’d like to advance my skills and get to that next level.