In a world filled with opportunities, the A Day In The Life Series is here to shine a light on the many different career paths you can pursue, with sage advice from amazing women who are doing the work! Throughout the series, we’ll hear from women in many different roles across many different industries with one major thing in common - a desire to help you win with whichever path you pursue.

In today’s A Day In The Life segment, we had the privilege of connecting with Janae Jackson to talk more about the life of a Senior Software Support Analyst. Check out our conversation below!

Tell us about yourself.

I am a Houston, TX native currently living in Atlanta, GA. I have been in the tech industry for 12 years and currently work as a Software Support Analyst for NCR for 5 years. I am also in the process of finishing my graduate school specializing in Cybersecurity.

How would you explain your job to an 8-year-old?

I would describe my role as assisting banks with helping their customers access their money from their computers.

Tell us more about your career journey.

My father bought our family an Acer Aspire desktop as a child and I have been hooked on technology ever since. I attended a vocational high school that specialized in Computer Networking and then proceeded to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

I always knew I would be doing something with computers, it was really my only interest.

What are your main responsibilities in this role?

My main responsibility is to manage client relationships. The goal is to ensure my clients are able to do business and resolve issues for their customers. I serve as a point of contact for any requests or issues that arise in our client’s business. I also work as a liaison between internal and external partners for various issues.

What does a typical day look like?

My clients will reach out to me to discuss critical issues such as outages impacting their business systems. They will also communicate any changes they would like to make to their Digital Banking platform. In either of these scenarios, I am then tasked with working with internal or external teams to find a resolution.

Critical thinking and attention to detail are the two biggest skills that help me with my daily job functions. I get to work with leadership professionals at financial institutions, so it requires a high level of professionalism and technical expertise to resolve any issues they may have. Being a good listener is also important to ensure the changes I’m making are executed properly.

What do you enjoy most about the job?

I like that every day is different.

I work with a very complex product and it comes with challenges which are good things as it helps to strengthen my product knowledge and ability to fix issues.

I also enjoy getting to build relationships with my clients. And, of course, working with my team. We all work very closely together. Although our roles are different, our teamwork is what keeps our clients happy and work enjoyable.

What would you consider the most challenging aspect of the job?

The demand for support has increased so time management skills have been critical to my role to ensure deadlines are met.

What would you say are the top 3-5 skills needed to succeed in your role?

Time management, critical thinking, customer service skills and technical skills

What advice can you give someone who is looking to pursue a career as Software Support Analyst?

I would recommend it! Being that you get to learn the backend of your industry, you get to learn about many products and services. I’ve gained knowledge of the security side of the services we offer ranging all the way to the marketing side, so in the support analyst role you will definitely get exposure to help define your career path.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I would like to encourage women who are interested in the tech industry to go for it! It’s so rewarding as you get to share your talent but also get the learning opportunity and exposure as the jobs available are endless.

Thanks for tuning into the A Day in the Life Series! Be sure to check out the other segments for a glimpse into other roles you may be interested in pursuing.