Build Your Own Path to Pursue Career in Industry

June 16, 2023

Many people think living in a small town will hinder someone's career. At least, that was what Dyota Cantacyacitta Vidyadhari (24) had thought of. This girl was born and grew up in Salatiga. She started her career journey as an intern at Danone Indonesia. Her previous status as a student from a small-medium city made her think that she needed to upgrade herself by participating in international and nationwide student activities, such as Bangkit.

Vidya spent her college life at Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana by actively participating in various programs that supported her in becoming a reliable tech talent. However, studying in a small town makes contacting her complex for startups and companies. The probability of getting an internship or hands-on projects in the tech industry seems like once in a blue moon.

Vidya's passion for the tech industry has made her dream of building a startup a reality. With so many startups getting incubation funds, it's no wonder she thought about starting her own. So, what kind of career does Vidya want right now? Is she still interested in building her own company? Let's take a look at the story.

Joining Bangkit Because of the Leading Company Behind That

Vidya is really into the tech world, an interest that surprised her family, considering that her parents and extended family pursued a social science major. She majored in IT with a concentration in Data Science at college, with additional studies in Independent Bersertifikat at Bangkit in her 3rd year.

Back then, in 2021, she quickly applied to Bangkit upon seeing Bangkit posters on social media that quoted the participation from Google, GoTo, and Traveloka as the founding partners. Of course, it makes her even more passionate about registering for Bangkit. Another motivation was her excitement about collaborating with students from non-IT backgrounds.

"I wonder what the curriculum is and what they teach. The program description is indeed captivating and invites anyone to join. You may major in business or communication, or other non-IT background, but as long as you are determined to learn from this program you can be part of it. Meeting these kinds of strong-willed people, I really want to pair up with them, especially friends from non-informatics majors."

She was used to being educated on all the basics of IT specialization at university. Going deeper, though, she wants to know more about how people outside IT perceive technology. When we build and explain a program to people, we need to understand how they perceive technology. She's curious about what other people think about informatics.

#LifeafterBangkit in Italy

Vidya's journey to achieving her dreams sometimes didn't run smoothly. There was a phase in her life where she felt clueless. Also, when she navigated her #lifeafterbangkit in the International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program at Università di Pisa in Italy, Vidya wanted to know how far other countries have developed in technology.

“When I was in Italy, I studied what I got in Bangkit and deeper. At Bangkit, we learned more about theory and coding. In Italy, we focused more on the reason behind that and how an algorithm was used. The program also provides practical classes, such as data forms, what information mining looks like, and what tools are used. So it feels very exploratory even.”

Looking back on her experience, Bangkit is a good foundation for Vidya and makes it easier for her to learn data mining and machine learning at Università di Pisa. Even then, the lessons and videos she downloaded while participating in Bangkit were beneficial, and she could transfer knowledge to a friend who found it difficult to follow the lectures.

"Bangkit is a live changer, for sure. All the materials are useful for my study abroad purposes!" Vidya said

However, upon completing the program, when she returned to Indonesia, she faced the reality that her friends had graduated and started to find jobs. How about Vidya? There was a difficult transition period when she spent almost six months in Indonesia without going to college, and she's trying to figure out what she wants and must do.

At last, Vidya found a turning point. She thought she should finish her thesis and graduate because she would waste her time, money, and opportunity if she didn't.

Bangkit Becomes Vehicle for Vidya to Achieve Her Career

In early 2023, Vidya started her career as a business development intern at Danone Indonesia. Even though her job is not related to IT, she enjoys it. Moreover, Vidya lacks self-confidence when talking with people. However, her job requires her to socialize more and be proactive toward managers and teammates. Vidya is very grateful for this because she learned something valuable about making more connections with people.

"Fortunately, I was allowed to present programs to stakeholders. So it broadens my knowledge not only on tech. I learned several business, economy, and supply chain applications from my office, and it's been fun."

So, what made her interested in taking this role? The opportunity to deal with big data sales must be a different approach, making her explore data sales further and even more interested in diving into business development.

Bangkit 2021 is a vehicle for her to be one step ahead of other candidates. During the interview process, the recruiter was interested in Vidya's values. Armed with a CV that she made based on the soft skill sessions at Bangkit and her experience as a cohort, she stood out during the interview.

Vidya closed the interview session with a message for all Bangkit 2023 cohorts.

"I know it's not gonna be an easy six months learning on Bangkit. But it's gonna be worth it in the end. You can graduate from Bangkit, for sure! You may not immediately feel the benefits after graduating from Bangkit, but you will thank yourself because you have finished this program."

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