When I was coming to the end of my Acting degree at university in 2015, if someone was to tell me that in a couple of years I would be cast in a film as a tech savvy, robot building, API knowing professional who has been hired to save the world from mundane and “boring” tasks for the average human worker, I would have said “that sounds cool, I finally get to live out my dreams of feeling like an MI5 hacker”!
Getting started on automation and Blue Prism
Fast forward to 2021. I have been hired as an RPA Apprentice in one the world’s leading tech companies for Automation. A path I never imagined myself taking; mainly because it scared me. However, after the weird years of 2019 and 2020 – there was a lot of time for reflecting. Life changed so much, and we all found ourselves with time to think about what we wanted out of life and what we wanted our impact to be. I wanted to challenge myself, learn new skills, and somehow make a difference not only for myself but for other people I encounter.
The reality of working in this field is very different to the way it is portrayed on shows like Start Up or The Net:
- I am not from a technology background and prior to joining Blue Prism, I had not heard of RPA. There is A LOT TO LEARN.
- Building a process from scratch is actually very hard. There are so many components and things to consider.
- Getting to grips with tech terminology feels like learning another language or like trying to Decipher a code.
- As much as I try, I cannot type as fast as they do in the films.
Many months have gone by since April 2021 when I joined, and I have had some time to reflect quite a bit on these things.
My learning journey
Firstly, even though I am not from a tech background I have surprised myself with how I have been able to get used to the different world. Every day I log into my computer I know it is a day when I will be learning something new. I now know what RPA is, what it does, and how it is having a positive effect for our clients and other companies. I find myself both shocked and also a little proud when I can explain the concept to friends or new people I have now met. Some of these people think I work in a company that builds physical robots, (sometimes I do let them think this) but for the most part I am able to articulate what Blue Prism does, and what we mean by Robotic Process Automation in a way that I didn’t think would be possible at the start.
Secondly, we had RPA training provided through Mindweaver who amongst other things supported us in learning how to build automated processes in Process and Object Studio. I can almost conclude this paragraph simply by saying…it was very hard. Though, to elaborate, I’d say, it requires a lot of concentration, and it took me a lot of time and energy to understand how it worked. But once I started to push through and make some progress; I saw that it also required me to use my initiative and creativity. This was an interesting observation for me. I didn’t realise that RPA could be this creative and that is something that I am keen to tap into more.
As well as this, although I am not a developer responsible for building end to end intricate processes, I am really starting to value the small part that I play in. Each part is important. The more I learn the more I will be able to contribute.
Thirdly, I remember finding it quite daunting and overwhelming in meetings when I felt like I was the only one who didn’t understand what was being said. The terminology and acronyms were confusing, and I wasn’t confident enough to enquire about what was happening. I put myself under a lot of pressure to immediately understand concepts and processes that I’d never seen or heard of before. I now recognize that that was a bit silly! One thing I need to do is override the feeling of stupidity and ask questions when I have them. Learning is a constant process! Learning will feed my knowledge which will feed my confidence.
And finally…for my biggest learning…my typing…
As it turns out when in films and TV shows the character is typing extremely fast, pressing multiple keys and using coding to hack into a system, looking at three different screens at once…That is not my life. For me my focus is on getting stuff right. The excitement TV hackers get as they are about to bypass a firewall, typing a million miles an hour is not what I am experiencing. I am constantly trying to make sure I do not to press a single key wrong for fear of deleting important files and processes. That’s reality and that’s okay. I get it now. It’s just a different vibe.
Looking forward
I am learning not to let the idea of what things are impact my reality too much. I am also learning to focus on me and my work and trying not to allow outside factors to impact how I view my own progress (which is easier said than done - but I think it’s good to keep this in mind).
I am now learning that sometimes I put too much pressure on myself to know everything. One thing I am realising through this apprenticeship process is that patience is key and being kind to yourself is the most important thing to do when starting a new skill. I need to give myself time to learn and grow.
As for this new year – I am excited, nervous, intrigued (basically all the above) for what is to come in my learning but the most important thing for me to remember is to enjoy the journey in the present.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post and look out for more on my journey in 2022!
And….Scene.
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