KITTY SHRAY
COMPUTER TRAINER / ANALYST / PROGRAMMER / MANAGER
Kitty has carried the same career in her suitcase, allowing it to evolve with her as she faces up to each new opportunity and challenge.
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL
AGE: 45STATUS: Married
CHILDREN: None
COUNTRIES OF RESIDENCE: American born with time in two different Norwegian cities - Bergen and Stavanger - and in different parts of the States.
NUMBER OF MOBILE YEARS: 36 - 26 in the USA and 10 abroad
WORK
ORIGINAL CAREER: Computer Analyst
CURRENT EARNING POTENTIAL: $30-$60 per hour
BRIEF EMPLOYMENT DETAILS ABROAD: I have worked variously in data processing, computer programming and analysis, in network support, as a web page designer and computer trainer.
CAREER PATH
HIGHER EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems; Masters in Management Computing Systems.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY JOANNA PARFITT
JP: As the wife of someone in the international oil industry but who does not have children, your career must be partciularly important to you. How do you feel about moving around?KS: I enjoy moving around, although, some of the moves have been a set back in my career progress. Having to start over can be difficult. However, I cannot deny that my experience has widened as a result and many new opportunities have come my way.
JP: Obviously a background in computers has been a great asset to you. What other skills do you feel have helped you achieve such success?
KS: I also have accounting, training and many office skills.
JP: So, which do you consider to be your most valuable skill?
KS: Computer skills definitely. They are in demand all over the world.
JP: Do you think you have found the perfect portable career?
KS: Perhaps I have found a great alternative. If someone forced themselves to learn these skills merely to be employable, it might not work so well. I really enjoy my work.
JP: Is this a field where men and women receive equal pay?
KS: Almost - but not quite I'm afraid!
JP: Do you feel that your career would have tied in well with motherhood?
KS: It probably would have worked out nicely.
JP: Are there many women choosing to work in this field?
KS: Yes. Probably because freelance computer training, web page writing or support can easily fit round your own commitments.
JP: Is it important to keep up to date with the computer world at all times?
KS: Certainly. There are always new products, new software and hardware coming onto the market and if you don't keep up then you quickly get left behind.
JP: How did you manage to keep in touch when you were abroad?
KS: In Norway we didn't even get news in English let alone have the Internet. Today I would pull up some Web pages on the USA or technical developments. Back then I just read anything technical I could get my hands on.
JP: Can keeping up-to-date cost a lot of money, then?
KS: Software programs are not cheap, but of course I can teach myself the new ones and don't need to pay for a course.
JP: To some people it may seem as if you have stuck to the same career all the time, would you agree?
KS: No. I think I have changed with each new location and my career has moved in a different direction, within the same field, yes, but a different area.
JP: What were you doing before you left the States for Bergen?
KS: Computer programming.
JP: Then what happened?
KS: Well, for me, it was the first time I had worked abroad for a non-American boss. The system the customers were using was in Norwegian! But at least the operating system and programming language were in English. My job was to translate the customer system interface into English. I also did customer support.
JP: Was it easy to find work considering you did not know the language?
KS: It can be very hard to find work in Norway if you do not speak the language well. I was lucky to be offered a challenge because of being in the computer industry. I took a Norwegian langugae class and carried a dictionary with me at all times. I also had some software that looked up words and phrases for me in both languages. Once you get past the foreign interface the rest is in English. It was easy to be employed legally there due to my background.
JP: Surely it was harder to find work in Norway than it would have been in the States?
KS: No, I actually think it is harder to find work in the very competitive US. There is very little unemployment in Norway and having strong computer skills was very advantagous.
JP: What did you do in Stavanger?
KS: I continued to work for the same company I was working for in Bergen but it was harder to work with the distance gap. After a time I set up my own computer training company.
JP: That sounds ambitious.
KS: It is easy to set up your own business in Norway. Of course there are rules, but they are easy enough to follow. The government offers you help along the way.
JP: Computer training sounds like a good idea for an expatriate career. How exactly did you handle this?
KS: I really enjoy teaching people new things and there are always plenty of people on the expatriate circuit desperate to learn from an English speaker in a relaxed environment. I worked out of my home and had two computers so I could teach up to four people at any one time. I taught beginners and intermediates about computers, operating systems, word processing, spreadsheets and graphics. I charged a rate that was satisfactory to my users. It took some while to pitch the price corrrectly I admit. Then the conversion rate kept fluctuating and I had to keep altering my price accordingly! My course material was created out of past classes and technical readings. I created certificates for each user who attended the course.
JP: How does working in Norway differ from working in the States?
KS: They only work a seven and a half to eight hour day for a start! It is slower paced. Now I'm back in the US I work up to 60 hours a week.
JP: How does the money differ?
KS: I earned about half what I would have earned in the US when employed for the Norwegian company. Since this was my first foreign job, I did not know what to expect. My earnings improved when I worked for myself. However I tried to work part-time so that I could take advantage of being in a foreign country.
JP: What is the most profound effect that moving around has had on your career?
KS: I know I would have a much more responsible position with some seniority by now if I had not left.
JP: So has moving abroad been a negative experience?
KS: No, I think it enhanced my career in many ways, offering new challenges and opportunities. When I returned to the States, I went to work for an international company using many of my newly acquired foreign computer skills.
JP: What work are you doing now you are back in the States?
KS: Part of my job is to write web pages which opens up a whole new career path again.
JP: How did you embark on this?
KS: When we first returned from Norway I was thinking about which direction to take careerwise when my husband suggested I learned to write him some web pages. He needed them for his own job and promised it would only take three days. In the end I spent three months on it. Two days after I finished I started a real job doing web pages professionally.
JP: Could anyone design web pages do you think?
KS: I know some people find it easy but I feel that I need to call on my programming skills and not everyone has those. But yes, it is relatively easy to do.
JP: You have worked in so many areas of computing. Which are the most lucrative?
KS: Computer system managers earn more than support technicians, but teaching from home in Norway worked best.
JP: You must be the ideal person to answer this, then. How has the Internet affected mobile spouses?
KS: My belief is that it can be very comforting to have a world of knowledge available just about anywhere in the world in many different languages.
JP: And what about Email?
KS: My husband works for Schlumberger who has the generous objective of hooking all the spouses up to their own Email system, called SINet. The spouse receives her own Email address and the entire service comes free of charge - apart from the phone call charge of course. Now I can communicate with my husband wherever he may be in the world. I can keep in touch with many foreign friends. In the oil industry people move about so much that it would otherwise be impossible to keep track of where everyone is. SINet has made this possible. I would recommend any trailing spouse to investigate Email, it can stop you from feeling so isolated.
JP: But can Email help you with your work?
KS: Personally, I never had the luxury of this when in Norway, and now I am in the States I have a full-time job again. However, I know many women who do most of their work through Email - like you!
JP: Absolutely. My world falls apart every time my Email fails, I can tell you! But seriously, everything about your career sounds so positive. Tell me about the disadvantages.
KS: I love the work, sometimes it can be annoying when it is time to move just as I have gotten quite involved in long term plans with the company.
JP: I know you offer support to others. How do you manage to obtain it for yourself when you need it?
KS: I do a lot of technical reading and I use the Internet of course!
JP: You have always managed to find work when out of the States yet it has always been lower pay. How do you feel about this?
KS: I enjoy being out of the states and knowing that my knowledge is sought after in a foreign country. That compensates for a lot.
JP: What has going to Norway taught you?
KS: That I am capable of finding employment anywhere in the world. It has given me confidence.
JP: How do you market yourself in each new location?
KS: I make my own business cards and spread the word. I join professional and other groups and network as much as I can.
JP: How did you find work when you returned to the States?
KS: I went back to the company I had been working for before I left.
JP: What advice would you give to someone else interested in computers as a career?
KS: To gain as many skills as possible.
JP: Although your career has not changed drastically after your decade abroad. Have you?
KS: I suppose having more free time has made me hungry for more time off now. A two day weekend never seems enough somehow.
Kitty would like to share the following with you:
Internet and Email are really all you need. Use the 'net' to find out about relevant books, courses, magazines and technical developments. However, the following may be useful too.
For information on training in many skills including computers:
The Training Agency
Moorfoot
Sheffield
S1 4PQ
Tel: (44) (0)1742 753275
The British Computer Society
1 Sandford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HG
Tel: (44) (0)1793 417417
Information Systems Examinations Board (ISEB)
7 Mansfield Mews
London
W1M 9FL
Tel: (44) (0)171 637 2040
Information Technology Industry Training Organisation
16 Berners Street
London
W1P 3DD
Tel: (44) (0)171 580 6677
Find out about Microsoft approved training centres by calling: (44) (0)1189 270001
Contact Jo Parfitt: Generaal Spoorlaan 24, 2252 TA, Voorschoten, Netherlands - Tel: +31 (0)71 561 6857 - www.expatrollercoaster.com