</How to become a Digi-Diva>
By Sonika Phakey, Digital Marketing Manager at The Digital Fairy
As part of our CTRL Your Future campaign, we partnered with The Digital Fairy on a recent talk at a Stemettes event, to chat through the exciting opportunities available to young people interested in the digital industry.
Here Digital Marketing Manager Sonika talks about how she got into her career and provides some top tips on how to become a ‘Digi-Diva’ yourself.
When considering my options beyond sixth form, I knew that I wanted something with a balance of two things – creativity and something more analytical. After exploring several subjects such as economics, Spanish, architecture and even interior design, I found that the fashion industry had this fundamental balance, and opted to study MSc International Fashion Management at a university in London.
At the time I was studying, technology was disrupting the fashion world in a really exciting way. Observing this change across a vast industry ultimately drew me into working in the digital space, and I soon began a career in social media marketing. Starting at a time when social media was in its infancy also gave me the opportunity to create my own rules, and the power to be at the top of my game when learning new skills.
Throughout my degree and career, I discovered that the digital sphere encompasses so many different areas that you can dip in and out of to build your portfolio. If you want to study digital, use your time in university to build your knowledge as much as possible. Be inquisitive and question things, whether it’s understanding how your data is being used, to watching a tutorial on how to make an Instagram face filter, or taking an Institute of Coding course in something that interests you – there is so much out there to discover.
I’m now Digital Marketing Manager at The Digital Fairy, and each day is different as we all have hybrid roles in the agency, which means we work across multiple disciplines. My job involves implementing the various aspects of digital marketing, but I could be working on a creative pitch one day and taking more of a producer role the next!
I’m extremely proud to work in a female first agency that has a diverse workforce. In only six years the agency has grown into a full-service creative agency – with expertise across design, content and strategy. We’ve also spotted a gap of women in digital spaces and have since encouraged more women to join the sector and shift perceptions of what it’s like working in tech.
If you want to become a Digi-Diva, there’s three key things to remember:
- A career in digital is more than meets the eye – there are so many roles and skills that you might not know about, so go and explore! Even if you don’t think you’re ‘techy’, there’s really exciting digital opportunities in every industry – whether its gaming, fashion or even activism.
- Tap into all the resources available to you, whether it’s through YouTube tutorials, courses like Code First Girls or those featured on the Institute of Coding, or teachers and friends.
- Be inquisitive, ask questions and always try your luck. You never know where you might end up.
The Digital Fairy has partnered with the Institute of Coding on their CTRL Your Future campaign to encourage a more diverse group of young people into digital careers through higher education.
For more information on how you can choose your own pathway and reboot the system, click here: https://instituteofcoding.org/courses/search/