Clodagh Murphy

One of the reasons we love doing what we do is seeing people’s lives change because of their career choices, and the opportunities they have taken. We recently caught up with Sarah Jane Smith, who returned to work after taking time off to look after her children, and is now thriving in her chosen career path.

Global competition for talent is seeing employers navigating new territory to attract the vital tech skills they need in a post-pandemic era. With the South West fast becoming a haven for new tech firms hungry for software engineers, programmers, network security specialists and data science experts, dipping into the international talent pool is a logical next step.  

Many of the jobs we hold nowadays were merely a figment of the imagination just 10 or 20 years ago! Did your role even exist back then? If it did, it was no doubt worlds apart from the work you do today. What was once a fantasy is now our reality, and goodness, it makes you wonder – where will we all be in 20 years’ time?

Whether a boy or girl, child or adult, the fear of failure is something that affects over 30 per cent of the population. A phobia that controls us more than our dislike of spiders, being home alone and even the paranormal.

One sector in which women are still vastly underrepresented is STEM. Last year, it was reported by UNESCO that women make up only 24 per cent of the core STEM workforce, a worryingly low number. However, there seems to be hope on the horizon.

78 per cent of female business owners report to have not had female role models throughout their career. Just under a third said that this lack of inspiration and guidance meant that their entrepreneurial journey had been slower and that they don’t feel as successful as they could have been.

Reaching ‘the top’ of a career looks different for everyone, it’s not a one-size-fits-all ambition. While some may look to fulfil the average 24 year sprint to CEO level, others may place satisfaction on the numbers shown in their bank account, the assets they hold, or the positive emotional connection they have with their profession and role within society.