Going from a journalism career to one in software engineering is not your everyday change. But for Katie Miller it was a natural move and is one she has completed successfully.
Katie was an acclaimed journalist at the Gold Coast Bulletin and had completed a Bachelor of Journalism at Bond University while working there. After almost six years in the media, during which she increasingly became involved in running the newspaper’s website, her love of technology lured her to pursue further studies at Bond.
After completing a Master of Information Technology, with a specialisation in software engineering, she now has a graduate software engineer position with Suncorp and loves her new career direction.
Katie has taken the time to reflect on her time at Bond:
“The second time around, I chose Bond because I felt it was offering the best software engineering course of the local universities and I knew that the small class sizes meant I would receive personal attention that would help me to tackle the challenge of learning a totally new discipline. I was also attracted to the accelerated program as it meant a reduction in the time I would have to juggle work and study.
I think the best aspect of Bond for me was the high level of interaction with lecturers and tutors. It gives students the chance to ask challenging questions but also allows for the professors to really challenge the students. The faculty members did everything they could to help students make the most of the opportunity to learn.
During my studies I was required to do an IT internship, which was completed at global software vendor SAP. I was at the company’s research facility in Brisbane and had to complete a small software project in just 12 weeks. It was a big challenge but an extremely worthwhile experience.
Overall I feel I have been exceptionally well prepared for an IT career. People often say that the real learning happens in the workplace, not at university, but I could not count the number of times I have thought 'I'm so glad I learnt that at uni' since starting work. Coming from a journalism background into IT, it was vital that my degree equipped me with a sufficient level of technical knowledge for me to understand what my colleagues were talking about and know where to find more details about a topic if I needed to. I've found my course has achieved that so I am very appreciative of my Bond education.
I started out working in automated testing as part of a Quality Assurance team in Suncorp's Bank Business Technology division and have now moved into a Java developer role. I am helping the bank to produce high quality software applications.
I’ve always had a love of technology and I hope to continue learning as it evolves, to become the best software engineer I can be. My Bond University experience has provided me with the optimal education to help achieve that goal.”
