Women in Tech: Nikki Martindale
What’s your name and role?
Hi – My name is Nikki Martindale and I work at Nuffield Health as a Lead QA Manager on the Customer & Account Management unit
How did you decide to pursue a career in technology? Was it your childhood ambition or a spontaneous decision to work in the field?
My childhood ambition was actually to be a police officer or a paramedic – I fell into QA accidentally whilst working for an energy company as a Customer services trainer. I was a product expert on the CRM and billing system and when they came to replace it, they wanted SME’s to do the testing and POW!- there was my introduction to Tech!
What are your biggest achievements / moments you’re most proud of in the workplace?
In my current role I would say my biggest achievement is how much I have progressed as a people manager and leader. I work really hard everyday to bring the best version of myself to work and to ensure that the team who support me deliver great things also feel the support right back at them. I work hard to develop my team and I think this has shown across the Tech team in how much my guys/gals deliver as a quality function. Not on how much they deliver, but how as a function we are all advocates of QA and the importance it has on every project that we are part of.
What advice can you give to women considering a career in tech?
Go for it! When people talk about being in tech there are massive misconceptions around having to have studied for years, having to know every coding language under the sun and having to talk in acronyms…it’s simply not the case. I think, if you have an inquisitive mind, like to make or break things and can think outside of the box, then you have the key skills to be an engineer. Everything else can be developed over time.
Do you think that women have the same opportunities as men in the tech world? How can we change that?
I don’t believe that men have more opportunities than women generally. I think opportunities come to those who seek them out. (I say this as a generally optimistic person!) I also think it’s down to the communities and support system you have around you at home. I think opportunities are given to those who are determined enough to make it work.