I am a general dentist and have been practicing in the States for more than three years.

After moving to Silicon Valley, I started working a few days a week in the omnipresent tech industry. I had not anticipated how challenging yet deeply fulfilling my work in healthcare technology would be.

Here are a few things I have learned about myself and the tech industry in general, as a result.

There is mentorship available to those that seek it

You may have heard how ruthless the tech industry is, or how difficult it could be for minorities or women of color to move up the ladder. I have had the opposite experience.

Due to a large number of family members being in tech, many of them automatically became mentors when I navigated into this industry. My husband started recommending books to read. My sister-in-law recommended courses to take. Wanting to fill gaps in my education, I began looking for support groups across the Bay Area and got invited to a few virtual meetings for women in tech.

There are a lot of opportunities to those that seek it.

The harder you work, the more successful you become

The more people you connect with, and the larger your network grows on LinkedIn and in the real world, the more chances you get to demonstrate your service to others. Of course, not every conversation turns into a sales opportunity. Yet, by asking the right questions, and always giving resources to others when possible, you can reach a place of greater awareness about your own product.

You learn its challenges and correct them before you talk to the next person. This slowly translates into more successful meetings, and at the right time, the big sales opportunity you were waiting for.

The industry evolves rapidly, and you have to keep up

I used to think that the dental world evolved rapidly. By the time I had graduated from dental school, people in the workforce were already working with different materials and tools. This is why healthcare professionals are expected to take continuing education courses per year. To keep up.

The tech industry moves 25 x faster than that. For example, as soon as we heard of the indoor- vaccination mandate in big cities like NYC and San Francisco, our company was able to roll out a new solution, eVAC Tracker, that enables HR of any company keep track of the vaccination status of their employees and customers. I was amazed by the speed at which my own team of engineers was able to build a prototype for such a solution.

Staying in the game requires you to be ahead of the game.  

The potential impact is BIG

Due to the nature of my advisory work, I talk to nonprofits, stakeholders and governments in developing countries, on a regular basis. When I do this, I can’t help but realize, the magnitude of impact our IT solutions could have on people. Providing a timely and much needed IT solution, can help countries build critical healthcare infrastructure- one, that will serve them well for decades to come.

When I started wondering about the impact, the idea of being in tech not only excited me, it also scared me a lot.

Are you also in a job that is deeply fulfilling? What has that taught you about yourself? Comment below!

To learn more about our solutions in health care technology, please contact me directly at sampada@samsotech-id.com