How resilience helped Mandy Basterman build a successful career in IT

If you traveled back in time to ask young Mandy Basterman what she wanted to become, she’d have said a lawyer.

Mandy, who is now a VoIP/IT Technician, even started law classes at the university. But her studies came to an abrupt halt because of the high cost of legal education. Parting from her desired career path was extremely difficult, leaving her shattered. Fortunately, an unexpected opportunity to return to school came up. The company where her father worked as a printer technician offered to pay for her studies. However, they had one condition: she had to join an IT focused program. Though unsure if tech was for her, she decided to take the chance to pursue an IT qualification.

The early years weren’t easy because she was still in love with law. “At first, I’ll be honest, I didn’t have a passion for IT at all,” says Mandy. “But as the years went on, it truly grew in me. By the time I graduated, I wanted nothing else but to build my career in IT.”

“This isn’t for me.”

After getting her diploma, Mandy joined Sappi, a paper, pulp, and packaging solutions company, as a Junior IT Technician. The role gave her a solid foundation to build her career on. From there, she moved on to work as a network administrator in two other companies. Currently, she works at ScottNet as an IT technician.

In her role, a typical day involves managing user requests, troubleshooting technical issues, and supporting VoIP systems. The last part involves monitoring call quality or setting up extensions, all of which she enjoys intensely. “I call myself the computer whisperer,” Mandy quips.

To an onlooker, Mandy’s career is full of triumphs, but that hasn’t always been the case. There were times she struggled.

When she began her diploma, she found technology and coding to be very confusing and frustrating. “I remember thinking, ‘This just isn’t for me.’” But she pushed herself to understand the fundamentals, and everything started to make sense. Those early years taught her patience and perseverance, two essential traits for an IT technician.

Mandy also had to fight off impostor syndrome when she entered the field. When the voice in her head told her she wasn’t good enough, she reminded herself of what she had accomplished and focused on areas for improvement. She didn’t rely on herself alone. Her mentors and colleagues provided advice and direction, which boosted her confidence. If you’re struggling in your first role, Mandy’s advice is to “focus on learning from each interaction and watch more experienced colleagues”.

And like every African working in tech, she has also had to deal with limited access to resources and tools. Learning online and making use of what was available helped her get past this and also taught her resilience and creativity. “Some of the biggest game-changers in my learning journey were online platforms like YouTube and Udemy, which made it easy to learn at my own pace. I also found tech forums and community groups helpful—being able to connect with others, ask questions, and share ideas made a big difference.”

Solving the education gap one solution at a time

Mandy’s long-term goal is to improve access to quality education. “I want to create digital solutions that make learning more accessible, engaging, and inclusive so everyone has a chance to reach their full potential, no matter where they are.”

It’s not just a dream. For her final-year project, she developed a learning management system that enabled schools to track student progress and reduce the burden of administrative tasks. In the future, she plans to build more solutions like this.

When there’s a will, there’s a way 

Mandy’s story shows that with resilience, you can build a thriving career in tech. “With dedication and the right mindset, you can carve your own path and create meaningful work in tech. ”