How a Cartoon Kickstarted Tisski Employee’s Journey in Tech

In the lead-up to his one-year anniversary with Tisski, functional consultant, Olu Adesiyan, shares an insight into his journey in tech and reveals how a childhood favourite sparked his interest in the sector.

Navigating through my career in tech has been such an interesting journey and I remember how it all began like it was yesterday…

As a kid, I would watch Kim Possible – the cartoon – and noticed how the hacker of the group was always so tech-savvy and amazing at his role. That’s what planted the seed of wanting to work in tech in my mind and it all started from there.

A learning curve

Fast forward to 2012 and I’m at university studying software development. This is where I got to truly understand the ‘behind the scenes’ of tech, like what was really making all the pictures, videos and software work.

I was so fascinated that I started working extra hard at home after lectures to see what else I could find out and, realising I could use the coding I’d been taught to create games, I uncovered a passion for game development. This came in handy when I had to do my dissertation/final project as I used the knowledge I had acquired over the years thanks to my passion for game development and created a game to help primary school students learn maths.

Securing a role as a junior software developer after graduating, it was while in that role that I established an interest in business analysis, too. It wasn’t long before I was made aware of an interesting area which allows you to focus on development and business analysis: functional consultancy.

Discovering Tisski

I spent two years educating myself while working for my previous employer, with this aim of becoming a functional consultant. Achieving my goal, I was promoted, yet I realised I wasn’t as fulfilled as I’d imagined. I wanted to work for a company who would teach me, as well as challenge me; this is when I discovered Tisski.

As their functional consultant, I’m involved in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of software systems. My days vary, depending on what stage the project I’ve been assigned is at. If it’s early days, I would need to gather requirements from the clients and create a process map for them; if its in the development phase, my job would be to customise and configure a Microsoft Dynamics system for them.

Tisski has been such a great company to work with in the year that I’ve spent here. Not only do they have great people who are willing to help you at the drop of a hat, they also have a great leadership team. My favourite thing about working with Tisski is the freedom you have and the trust the company places in you to provide quality work.

Role models and reflection

It’s worth noting that my journey so far hasn’t all rested on those episodes of Kim Possible! Throughout my life, I’ve drawn on inspiration from tech figures like Bill Gates, and closer to home, a couple of my former mentors from previous jobs. These guys all shaped the person I am today, professionally.

Surprisingly, tech wasn’t always the direction I wanted to take my career in. I’ve always been an avid lover of art and, growing up, I was always sketching or painting. At one point in my life, I considered pursuing a career as an animator, but was guided further towards tech by my parents.

Do I wish I chose animation? That’s a mystery that would plague me for a long time – but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the sector I’m in. Tech is and will always be fascinating to me because of how much it has changed and the speed at which it keeps evolving. It is an integral part of all our lives – it’s almost something we can’t live without, whether we like it or not.

To any young person considering embarking on this journey in tech, I would advise you to take your time and enjoy the ride. Use YouTube as much as you can – it may hold a lot of the answers you are looking for and there are so many free materials you can learn from. It can be hard work in the tech industry, but it’s worth it – just remember to take some time for yourself along the way.