Kirsty McGing joined Informed Solutions after enjoying a significant break from the world of work to raise her family. Now a critical part of our Corporate Technology Services team, her role as Infrastructure Engineer is to coordinate and maintain critical on-premise and cloud systems.

Here, Kirsty describes her journey from when she first discovered her interest in computers and IT, to excelling in a challenging and interesting role, all whilst balancing a work life balance to care for her young family.

Career/Life Balance

I wanted to be many things when I was younger and was fortunate enough to be encouraged to explore my interests. My ideas on what I wanted to do with my life were constantly changing, but I always had a passion for computers, science, and technology: I won a Science Award in my Sixth Form for work I did with the University of Manchester Astronomy Department, I’ve always played computer games for as long as I can remember, and I love puzzles and problem solving.

After College, I started an Electronics and Electrical Engineering course at the University of Manchester. It was during my studies that I discovered I was pregnant with my first child. This took me and my partner by surprise and my life changed very quickly from thinking about circuit boards to thinking about starting a family!

I was concerned that if I tried to excel at being a student and a new mother at the same time, I would likely burn myself out and probably judge myself to be doing terribly at both, so I decided to dedicate myself to family life.

Balancing Work and Family Life

Over the next 10 years I was fortunate to be able to grow our family and have three beautiful children, with most of my energy given to being a full-time Mum. Over time, as my kids began to grow up and join nursery groups and start primary school, I was able to start shifting more focus back onto my career. Once the time was right, I began eagerly applying for positions and found I was not in the right age range for apprenticeships and lacked the training to step straight into technical roles.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t far into my search when the pandemic hit. Suddenly, I had all three of my children at home again, so any plans of job hunting were set aside once more. During lockdown, I realised I had a perfect opportunity to educate myself and found an online IT Technician training course, which allowed me to fit my studies around my family life, and once qualified, I was able to return to job-hunting equipped with appropriate qualifications and knowledge.

Discovering the Perfect Role

I remember reading the job listing for a Trainee Infrastructure Engineer at Informed Solutions and knowing immediately that it was the right opportunity for me. From speaking with the team through the interview process it was clear that Informed truly appreciated learning, curiosity, and dedication to your craft, which resonated with my own values. Since joining in March 2023, I have been continually supported and guided by a team of people who really do care about my professional and personal well-being.

Reintegrating into Working Life

Once the euphoria of being offered the role and accepting had initially passed, I felt a little apprehensive at the thought of coming into a new, challenging, and fast-paced environment after a break from the world of work. This apprehension quickly faded as I was quickly made to feel extremely welcome, whilst transitioning into the role. My team had prepared a carefully crafted induction plan to help me find my feet and I was paired with a buddy to help me integrate into the company.

As I grew into the position, I felt truly valued to be trusted with the responsibilities that come with such a challenging, dynamic, and critical part of the business, and my confidence and knowledge have increased significantly with the help of my team.

Leading New Projects and Advancing My Career

My first project involved moving Informed’s internal Corporate Technology Services service desk onto Jira Service Management. This was a large and complex task, which involved rapidly learning several techniques for a platform I had not encountered before however I enjoyed the challenge and opportunity for development. I have also worked on initiatives to upgrade our Microsoft sensitivity classifier and Exclaimer Cloud signatures, both of which I led and successfully rolled out to colleagues across the company.

To further my technical skills, I regularly access training and resources provided through our learning and development programme InformedACADEMY™, and I am frequently encouraged to seek training to add skills to my growing set of capabilities. So far, I have gained access to training in AWS Fundamentals, Microsoft Azure, and Intune. I have also been allocated a career coach to ensure I have a clear pathway for development and a support framework to help me achieve my goals.

Alongside this, I have been able to work flexibly within my team to allow for the unpredictable demands of childcare, meaning I don’t have to worry about not being able to look after my family.

Looking Forward

I am extremely motivated by my team having faith in my ability. Being at Informed has given me a huge boost of self-worth and pride in what I can accomplish.

I am extremely grateful that the business has provided me with the opportunity to develop in my career by investing in my training and providing me with a welcoming environment to settle into and thrive in. I very much look forward to being able to further advance my skills and experience in a place that has done so much for me, and I look forward to continuing to pay back to others for the opportunity I have been given.