GenNext Kista: The stories of tech talent
Social Media Specialist
Social Media Specialist
Social Media Specialist
GenNext – leading the change
Fresh out of university, navigating cutting-edge technology and a rapidly growing job market, young tech professionals are taking advantage of today’s tight talent market to pursue new jobs that offer more purpose and direction. The job market revival isn’t the only reason this generation is thriving, they are also determined to make their mark on the tech scene and are creating their own communities, such as GenNext Kista to help them achieve this objective. GenNext Kista was officially launched in September 2021 to provide a meeting hub: to create a sense of belonging, foster future talents, and be a strong voice for young professionals. We speak to some of GenNext Kista’s tech talent to find out why they were drawn to tech careers and how they are shaping the future at Ericsson.
Abhishek Vigh, Strategy and BI Development. (Just recently moved to BTEB)
"In India when I was growing up, I was given a lot of career advice from different people. But from an early age I was clear that I wanted to be an engineer: I was drawn to mathematics, analytics and machines. Now, 13 years later, I realize that I was drawn to this area because I want to change the world through technology."
What did you study?
I studied my bachelor's in mechanical engineering in India. I worked a few years as an industrial automation engineer before moving to study for an MBA at ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. When I graduated, I saw Ericsson had a leadership program for graduates from MBA programs, called the Ericsson Excellerate Leadership Program. When I initially applied, I didn’t really know that much about Ericsson.
How did you come to work at Ericsson?
When I graduated from my MBA program, I applied for the Ericsson Excellerate Global Leadership program. I chose Ericsson, because they gave me the ability to merge my technological and managerial skills. Also, I wanted to work with a company that is at the forefront of future technologies – we are living in an increasingly connected world with companies like Ericsson directly shaping our day-to-day lives.
What is the Ericsson Excellerate Global Program?
Ericsson’s graduate programs is designed to groom future leaders of the company and to fill that role you need to be well-versed in different facets of the organization. The program has three different rotations every six months where you get to work in different countries and in different departments. For fresh graduates coming into the company, it’s great to be given a ‘helicopter view’ of the company through multiple rotations across the organization. And it also gives them the chance to learn about new cutting-edge technologies that they probably haven't been exposed to in universities.
How do you find the work culture at Ericsson?
We are always given a chance to speak up, there are so many highly skilled and experienced people to learn from in Ericsson that you always have somebody to look up to. But when we're talking specifically about the attractiveness of an employer, I think it's a great company, especially for younger people.
What does your current role entail?
I work with business and competitive intelligence in the Solution Area (SA) Operations Support Systems (OSS). Competitive intelligence helps us keep a close eye on the competitiveness of our portfolio and offerings now and into the future. I also take part in strategic projects on an ad-hoc basis.
Ronja Jösch, Software Developer at Ericsson
"Creating something from scratch by drawing on your imagination and following logical patterns, that’s what drew me to this area. From being a scrum master to working ‘at the end of the line,’ it’s the excitement and challenges of technology that excites me."
What did you study at university?
As a kid I have been very creative, but at the same time I was good at math. When it came to picking university degrees, I wanted to combine logic with creativity.
I studied a degree in media and computer science: this blended both these worlds together. Now I know that programming is truly a mixture of creativity and logical thinking – you create something from scratch by drawing on your imagination and following logical patterns. I also did a master's in computer science with a specialization in cloud computing.
Why were you drawn to Ericsson?
I started with another tech company that had the reputation of being a ‘cool place’ to work, but I discovered very quickly that it was not a good fit for me: I did not like the company culture. It had more of a ”this place is cool, you're lucky to work” vibe. There was a lot of outer pressure rather than inner motivation, which isn’t productive in a workplace. I didn’t want to burn out in a few years, so I started looking elsewhere. At Ericsson, I immediately clicked with my manager during the job interview, and I haven't regretted my decision at all – it's a perfect fit. I am even a scrum master now, and also working on an exciting proof-of-concept side project.
What does a regular workday look like?
8:00 am Start work: I first look at my emails, then look at our nightly pipelines if they’ve succeeded or not. I also check if we received any new bugs on our microservice and then I look into my coding tasks.
9:45 am: As a scrum master, I guide our stand-up meetings every morning at 09:45 through sprint planning, backlog refinement to determine the list of future tasks e.g., what is still valid, what needs further updates and what can be removed, and any other impediments that my team face.
11:00 am: I am working in a design team which is responsible for implementing and maintaining a microservice. It’s the end of the line and a lot of products that Ericsson sells are based on our service. It’s an exciting time for us, as we are moving through a substantial change for our microservice. The architecture is currently reworked which will lead to major impacts for a lot of services. Additionally, I am working 30 percent of my time on a proof-of-concept project, which is extremely exciting, as we are working at the cutting edge of technology. As part of the project, I explore new open-source technologies, build, test and evaluate if Ericsson could use these in future projects.
1:00 pm: I might be involved in more meetings and discussions. When I am not in a meeting, I am trying to focus on the tasks that we have in the backlog. Our team is very mixed in terms of experience, and this is great as it enables me to take programming tasks that might be challenging but I always have someone who reviews my changes and helps me to become a better coder.
3 pm Innovation Fridays: I am also trying to leave my mark on the company. An initiative that I’ve brought to life is ‘Innovation Fridays.’ Every second Friday we meet and discuss anything that we would like to improve here at Ericsson. The meeting started small – only my manager and another colleague that joined the company at the same time – but it’s now expanded to other newcomers in our unit.
What is the work culture like at Ericsson?
There’s a lot of emphasis on teamwork and less on individualism, and that’s great as a beginner because you need support when you are learning. There is also a lot of opportunity for career growth and an emphasis on having people try out new things, dare to fail and experiment with innovative ideas. My team is a mix of new younger people and those with more experience – a great combination because you have people that learn the ropes at the same time as you, but you also have colleagues with years of experience – experts in the field – and they are happy to share their technical knowledge.
Is it time to shatter that stereotype about tech being a ‘male’ area?
Definitely! A lot of my new colleagues are female. I believe things are changing, with more women studying technology-focused subjects. I have always felt supported by all my colleagues, both at university and at work. I really believe that Ericsson, as a company, and my work colleagues care about remaining inequalities, and their support gives me the confidence to believe in myself – my skills and my ability.
Why do you think GenNext is an important initiative?
It’s great to have the support of young people who going through the same thing as you – because when you are young you often have different goals in life and need a different type of support. GenNext gives us a space where we can exchange knowledge and learn from each other, it provides opportunities to connect, to find people to go out with after work or ask specific ‘young professional’ questions to.