Hi, I’m Beth and I’m a Business Analyst at AO. In September 2016, a year after graduating from university with a degree in History, I joined AO as a Pricing Analyst. As part of my day-to-day role, I linked in with the Tech Department, helping the development team understand issues with our systems and what my team needed from new functionality.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with Tech. The buzz and energy in the department was invigorating, and it was fascinating to see how much value Tech’s improvements brought to the business.
Over time, I became inspired to pursue a career in Tech so that I could add more value through my work.
I work in Tech – but I’m not technical
Motivated to join Tech, I started to research which role would be right for me. I wouldn’t consider myself to be a technical person (even now after two years of working in Tech!) so I never envisioned becoming a developer, but after some research, I set my sights on the role of Business Analyst (BA).
I reached out to a colleague who worked as a BA in AO, and he put me in touch with the BA mentoring group. Shortly into my mentoring journey, I decided that Business Analysis was where I wanted to be, and after five months of mentoring, I was successful in securing a role as Junior Business Analyst within the Tech Department at AO.
Changing roles was worth it
Changing roles hasn’t been without its challenges, but with the support of an amazing group of peers, I successfully made the switch and progressed from Junior BA to BA in just 10 months.
In the past two years, I have worked on numerous projects and gained valuable experience which has aided my development as a BA. I have also become a mentor so that I can support others who wish to pursue a career as a BA.
A career in Tech has provided me with transferable skills and improved my career prospects, and I am grateful to work in such a dynamic field where I am continuously learning and improving.
Bethany Smith
Business Analyst
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