From payphones
to platforms
From payphones
How Zaira Shabir is
Growing up with limited access to tech, Zaira Shabir’s curiosity about IT grew in parallel with the rapid changes happening outside her school walls. Now at Netcompany, she’s building her skills across a range of projects while striving towards the goal of specialising in data analytics.
When Zaira Shabir phoned home from her boarding school, the process was always the same. She’d leave her dorm room, walk a few minutes through the long boarding house corridors, drop a couple of coins into one of four public telephones, and dial the number. Sometimes she’d need to wait for another girl to finish up. Other times she’d have some welcome privacy to speak to mum, dad or her sister.
To anyone over the age of around 40, that sort of routine might not seem particularly odd. But Zaira, now 25, was attending high school in the
mid-2010s – a decade defined by an explosion in communication technologies, from new smartphones that boasted ever faster processors, bigger screen and sharper cameras to weird and wacky tablets, chunky smart watches and connected glasses. And that’s not to mention the plethora of apps and social platforms released each week. But things couldn’t be more different inside the walls of Zaira’s strict religious school.
»We weren’t allowed phones or any sort of technology
that wasn’t supervised,« she recalls.
»The only unsupervised time we had was in IT class for our coursework. I found it so fascinating that we'd been in the same place for seven years, using the same way to call home, and nothing was getting more advanced. But outside, things were getting so advanced. I found it so interesting that it was all moving so fast and becoming a core part of people’s everyday lives.«
The seed for Zaira’s desire to work with technology were sown. But it’s not quite as simple as ‘the rest is history’, as she had real reservations about the type of people who worked in IT.
»I had the typical perspective that computer science people are geeks, working in their basements, just coding away all day long,« she says. »So, I wasn’t sure that it was what I wanted to do to begin with. Thankfully, it turned out to be something completely different – there were so many avenues I could choose from. It’s worked out really well.«
Finding her path
After graduating with a degree in Computer Science from the University of Bradford – a short drive from her hometown – Zaira faced a challenging job market. »When I left university in 2021, it was a tough time for graduates,« she says. »There was a real scarcity of jobs, especially for those of us who wanted to go straight into data roles. Most companies were looking for people with more experience.«
For seven months, Zaira searched for the right opportunity. It was a university lecturer who suggested she use LinkedIn more actively, which led to her being tagged in a comment on a Netcompany post by her university’s careers advisor. That connection resulted in a conversation with the recruitment team, and soon after, Zaira joined Netcompany as part of a cohort of early-career hires.
»It wasn’t officially called a graduate scheme, but there was a real sense of support for us as early learning candidates,« she says. »We had colleagues dedicated to helping us gain foundational certifications and encouraging us to explore different areas. Netcompany doesn’t just focus on your day-to-day work – they want you to be well-rounded, to build confidence in presenting and speaking to managers.«
A career built on
curiosity and support
Zaira’s journey at Netcompany has been anything but linear. »I always wanted to work in data analytics and statistics, but as a graduate, it was hard to get those roles straight away. So, I started by supporting more experienced colleagues, working with service desk data, and gradually took on more responsibility,« she explains. »Over time, I contributed to data strategy pieces and business architecture projects, each one giving me a new perspective and helping me build my skills.
She credits her growth to the people around her. »I’ve worked with some really experienced teams – people who’ve been in the industry for 20 years. I learned so much from them, and they were always supportive,« Zaira says. »At one point, I was considering specialising and moving to a different part of the business, but I realised the team I was with contributed a huge amount to my development. I decided to stay, and within six months, I was promoted.«
Giving back
Outside of work, alongside an array of sports hobbies – including Pilates, hiking, boxing and gym sessions – teaching is a meaningful part of Zaira’s life. After finishing university, Zaira taught a group of around 15 children, aged seven to twelve, several afternoons a week. »I used to do that from half five till seven every day,« she says. »But when I started working full-time, I found it difficult to keep up and commit to it.«
Rather than give up entirely, Zaira adapted her approach to fit her new schedule. »I went out of my way to see if there were people I could teach, but more on my own timing – I can do it a few days a week, smaller groups of people,« she says. Now, she often tutors her friend’s daughter and niece in a more flexible arrangement. »It works out better in terms of flexibility. If something comes up, work-related or not, I can just message her, or if something comes up for her, she can message me last minute, and we can just reschedule for another day.« Zaira has been teaching in this way for about two and a half years.
Dreaming of data
Today, Zaira works as a Splunk developer on a large-scale project in the UK public healthcare sector, building monitoring solutions to ensure critical health data is delivered on time. »We use Splunk to create alerts and dashboards that monitor when files are sent, especially for vaccination services. »It’s a technical role, but also very collaborative – I’m always talking to different services and stakeholders to understand their needs.«
Zaira’s still determined to move further into data-focused roles, and appreciates the support Netcompany offers. »I’ve been able to have open conversations with my manager and mentor about where I want to go. They’re helping to make those steps happen in the background while I continue with my current work,« she says. »Having that kind of support and flexibility makes a huge difference.«
