Got Your Eyes on the C-Suite? Career Tips from Ericsson's Top Women in Tech

Remember when you were working your way through college? Did you know exactly what you’d do once you got that degree? Or, were you like me… not a clue which direction to take once I finally got that engineering degree in my hand.

For some the road is tight and narrow, but for most of us (both men and women in tech), a degree is just a credential we can use to get our foot in the door; Where we go from there has much to do with fate and some creative maneuvering.

Recently I had the chance to have a little “fireside” chat with three women in tech executives from Ericsson.

Each woman shared a story about what type of STEM degree(s) she had and how she used that degree to traverse to the top and assume a leadership role at such a HUGE multinational telecom service corporation.

After sharing about their education and the work they do today, each of the women took a turn sharing a little bit of career advice by answering the question, “Looking back, what advice would you give your younger self, if you had the chance?”.

Leaders in Tech and the Stories of How They Got There

Three of our panelists started off with STEM degrees and subsequently used those degrees to move into leadership roles at Ericsson. Their stories are sure to inspire!

This coder had no idea she’d become a leader at a multinational corporation…

The story of Rossella Frasso is particularly interesting because she’s a coder turned corporate leader (the Head of Virtual Network Function Development at Ericsson, to be more precise). When graduating with her MS in Computer Science, she really had no idea she’d go on to a leadership role at a major corporation. Like many of us, she was content with coding, math, and logic, but had so much more in store for her. Rosella tells her story for us here.

This electrical engineer runs things at Ericsson while “future-proofing” the products they develop

Dr. Azihem Sefidcon earned two post graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and has since gone on to become the Director of Cloud Technology Research for Ericsson. She gets to be the person who “future-proofs” the products Ericsson develops. She’s an engineer turned corporate leader. The work she gets to do is fascinating! Take a listen to what Azihem says here.

The industrial designer who’s now a Director at Ericsson’s Consumer and Industry Lab

So yeah, Rebecka Angstrom started off with a MS in Industrial Design. She’s been with Ericsson for over 5 years and she’s enjoyed getting to work on fascinating issues related to emerging tech and consumer products: Topics like ethics, privacy, and security… It’s complicated! Let Rebecka speak for herself.

To the Minorities and Women in Tech – Tips for Getting Ahead in Your Career (from those who have)

When you’re in your late thirties, like me, it’s so easy to look back and see all the traps that could have been avoided… all the lessons learned the hard way… all the things you wish you had known… While most recent-grads are all-ears, there’s just not enough people out there sharing their stories and what they’ve learned.

That’s why I wanted to poll our panel of women in tech; To hear exactly what career advice they’d say to their younger selves if they could. I’m deeply motivate and inspired by their answers. See for yourself in the following clip, which kicks-off with Eva Hedfors, VP, Head of Marketing & Communication for Ericsson Digital Services.

I captured this content on behalf of DevMode Strategies during an invite-only tour of the Ericsson Studio in Kista. Rest assure, the text and opinions are my own

Now it’s your turn, thinking back on your career, what words of wisdom would you give your younger self if you could? Put your advice in the comments section below and I’ll make sure to give you a direct response.