March is Women’s History Month and ITS is celebrating by highlighting Carolina women in technology. All month long, ITS News will share profiles and Q&As to share the breadth and diversity of the Tar Heel women-in-IT experience. For the full list of profiles and to read some ways to get involved, visit Celebrating Women’s History Month with Carolina women in IT.
Tell us about your current role and what you do.
I am a business systems analyst on the Data & Enterprise Reporting & Application Middleware (DREAM) team. I get to work closely with various teams within ITS as well as campus units and individual report and data users across campus. No two days are ever the same and I really love the variety. There is always something new to learn.
What excites you about the future of your field?
I enjoy working in data warehousing and the “future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades” (song by Timbuk 3). Within the DREAM team, I’m excited about our efforts to model data and create data sets for campus units. It has been rewarding to see campus units use their data for internal analysis and reporting. We have a foundation started with student data and are starting to work with HR and finance data too.
Has your gender been a factor in your career trajectory?
I have not felt like my gender has been a factor in my career. I have worked in both the private sector and higher education and never noticed anything about my gender in either area. I also have a “just get in there” personality so maybe I just wasn’t aware if anything existed.
Have you had a mentor in your career or someone else who made a difference for you?
At every stage of my career, I have been lucky enough to have a mentor to help fill in gaps in knowledge and experience and to guide me in my learning. I think my willingness to learn has encouraged others to see potential in me and decide that I was worth the time investment. I try to mentor others by being available, approachable and willing to help.
About Sally Schinske
Sally Schinske has been a business analyst on the Enterprise Reporting & Departmental Systems (ERDS) team, which is part of the Data & Reporting Environments & Application Middleware (DREAM team) at ITS, since October 2016.
Prior to October 2016, she was a business analyst in Payroll Services for more than 10 years. She has a bachelor’s in business administration and is currently enrolled in an MBA program at UNC Greensboro. Outside of work and school, Schinske stays busy with her two teenage kids.
What would make it possible for more women to work and succceed in IT?
I think the opportunity to work remotely or with a hybrid schedule would make it possible for more women with small children to thrive in IT. The pandemic pushed us all into a whole new phase of workplace flexibility. My children are teenagers now, but the opportunity to work even partially remote would have helped me so much when they were young. I think the option to incorporate remote schedules into the mix is a great support structure for women in IT and would help families as a whole.
What career advice do you have for women in IT?
Jump in and try and you can do it. There are so many different areas in IT so try them out and see what is the most interesting and the best fit for you.
What resources do you recommend for women who are looking to start or advance their IT careers?
As you start or work to advance your IT careers, I recommend requesting to work on projects in different areas outside of your current role and comfort zone. This allows you to learn and expand your knowledge base while also allowing you to see what areas may interest you the most. There are so many layers to IT that the opportunities to find the right fit are endless. Be confident and know that if you don’t know something, you can learn and grow into it.