Her Story
About Irena
I have been in my field for 18 years, working in business development and accounts management for a medical device company until recently. What inspired me to get into the medical field was that I love working with people and doing something meaningful. I also love developing business, new business and contracts, and working on contracts, so the negotiation part of it really appeals to me. My typical day was a 12-hour workday, which was a little bit overwhelming, but it was also challenging because I work with worldwide customers, so I would need to work long hours. That was challenging, but it was also very rewarding. Professionally, I value being respected and owning my respect, and I love being a leader of a team. Even though I would not always be put into that position, I think the biggest thing is trust. If the company trusts you to proceed, then that makes all the difference. I sort of learned everything on my own and developed everything on my own, which made me develop more original ways of doing things. Now I'm looking to start my own business in artificial intelligence, possibly including the medical device knowledge that I learned from the company, but really growing into artificial intelligence because that's our future, I feel.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Irena
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young people entering the field is to not get stuck in one job for too long. Don't stop in one place for a really long time. There are benefits to it, but there are also some difficulties when you try to move on, particularly if the company had no growth opportunities for you and you kind of entered in a particular position and then you pretty much left at that position as a manager. You should have been out of there sooner to grow more. It can feel comforting in a way, but it's kind of stopping your growth process. For young professionals wanting to become entrepreneurs, I would say to not give up and to have channels of connections. Basically, establish relationships while you're working or doing anything else. Establish relationships with the company that you want to work with in the future for the feedback and the experimental work that you will need to do. The more connections you have, the more human connections you have, not artificial intelligence connections obviously, but the more human connections you have, the more it kind of facilitates the growth of your business later on.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges in artificial intelligence, which is where I'm looking to grow, are basically finding the right niche and then also developing it with limited financial resources. I don't really have that many financial resources, so I'm kind of on my own developing stuff, and it takes time and it takes learning, self-learning again. It's kind of starting from ground zero, almost.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Professionally, I love being respected and owning my respect, and I love being a leader of a team. Even though I would not always be put into that position, I think the biggest thing is trust. If the company trusts you to proceed, then that makes all the difference. Personally, I recently had a daughter who is my favorite hobby right now. She's actually 16 months already, and it's been a wonderful experience for me, just sort of the child development and seeing her develop and kind of learning about children because I've never had children before. I'm pregnant again with identical twins, and at my age it's a miracle, so it's a triple miracle for me to have children now. But I also want to keep developing professionally. I don't want to give that up, though. That's what I'm trying to balance out and find ways to continue developing professionally.
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