Bloom: Michèle Tahay
Michèle Tahay aka 'Mother of Data Dragons in the Kingdom of Wizards' is there, in her own words. And fight she does, because on the way from her youth to the driven tech woman and dedicated mum she is today, she defeated all demons and CPU problems to breathe pure life into her revealed talents. In a disarming, down-to-earth and honest conversation about the coincidence of her choice of study, the balance between motherhood, career and growth, Michèle manages to touch us. Read more below...
From waterfall system to career choice refinement
"That is not the way I absorb things effectively.
That the waterfall system in education made her a warrior instead of a victim is a coincidence, says Michèle. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian or doing something in the medical field. Because at school she was repeatedly told what she could not do, that dream later took on a different meaning. Latin turned out not to be her thing after all, so she started studying economics and mathematics. She found economics somewhat interesting but the maths didn't work out so well. Michèle can still vividly remember the crass remarks of 'the fierce madam' of maths: "You must know those proofs by heart. That is not the way I absorb things effectively'. Between human sciences and economics-modern languages, Michèle went for languages after all. She kept it up for three years, through the bullying and the low self-esteem, until she found an ally in the dactyl lessons.
A spark ignited in the typing class
So what made you decide to study computer science?
Michèle's story resembles a bildungsroman in which her vocation germinated from a fascination with an old Apple computer in the dactyl room. There, her eye fell on a white square box with a screen on which her name undoubtedly flickered in a code that was only visible to her. While her classmates went for the classic typewriter, Michèle experimented with the then unattainable.A spark immediately went off in the typing class. I thought computers were cool, I wanted to be on the internet, play games, you name it. I had to wait a long time before dad finally bought a computer after three years, and then it was just for him. The lure of the unattainable kept echoing. Michèle's core talent manifested itself in a logic test: 'Using as few commands as possible, we had to imitate a drawing, which was easy peasy for me, while the rest of the class was sighing how difficult it was.
Was that the basis for your choice of study? Was that the click you made?
My Latin was no good, neither was my maths, and studying languages didn't interest me, so I thought: I'll do computer science'.
I had to make a choice from what was left. In the sixth secondary school, we received guidance in choosing a course of study. The person who had to help me listed everything I could not do. That is not very motivating and my self-confidence is almost zero. "Let's be honest," he said. "I know you are interested in sciences, but your grades are not good enough. My Latin wasn't good, neither was my maths and studying languages didn't interest me, so I thought, I'll do computer science. You could see him thinking "What exactly? Computer science?" When he realised that it was an economics course, after a cursory scan of the brochure, he approved. It remained a leap in the dark because I had no idea what I was getting into. In 1998, the study had existed for a while, but was not very well known. For my teachers and myself it was something new.
Wasn't there also talk of skills such as logical and problem-solving thinking?
No, not at all. In secondary school, there was a course in bookkeeping and computer science, but this is a technical course and I wanted to stay in ASO.
What was the reaction of those around you?
They didn't see that coming at all. My dad was very shocked and repeatedly asked if I was really sure because he didn't see me as a technical person at all. He wasn't comfortable with it. After all, I was a quiet obedient teenager who they would rather see doing something with languages or in the soft sector. Twenty years later, I gained some self-confidence, but then it got quite scary. Because I certainly did not want to run into anyone from Bruges again, I went to live in boarding school in Ghent, with dad pointing the finger'. For Michèle, failure was not an option and from then on she wrote a success scenario. With a 'shining ICT-armour', she acquired the necessary points and paved her way from the study of computer science as a choice by elimination to powerhouse in the world of databases.
How did you end up in the tech world? Did you have an idea of what you wanted to do right after you graduated?
It bothers me when it doesn't march, it has to be absolutely right'.
Not at that time, no. I started as a general computer employee and did a bit of everything: programming, help desk, system management, etc ... I wanted to find out what appealed to me most. I didn't like to work on the helpdesk and on the phone, but I did like programming and database management. One thing always came back: it bothered me when it didn't work, it had to be completely right. Somewhere it was already there, but I didn't have the knowledge at the time. It still had to mature.
From .net programming to database management
Five years later, Michèle decided to join Transics as a .net developer. After a while, she felt that more digging was needed to keep her interested. Due to a large turnover of colleagues, database management came to her. We can safely say that the spark ignited there as well. I actually enjoyed that. Gradually, I started programming less and working more on databases. I noticed that I was very good at writing high-performance queries. It went so well that I became the contact person for the colleagues. Until then she had been in an R&D role. When there was an opening for the same job at the customer side where she could also work 4/5, she was immediately won over.
'Curiously, I found my love for medicine again, the servers have to be healthy, so you have to treat them well, you have to take care of them.'
You got into your flow because you felt good about yourself?
Yes, totally! Production DBA (Database Administrator) is completely different, the customer is counting on us. You have to identify problems quickly and oversee everything instead of focusing on a detail.' Michèle felt the connection with her girlhood dream. Strangely enough, I found my love for medicine again, the servers have to be healthy, so you have to treat them well, you have to take care of them. I jumped into the deep end, I was really good at it.' With a thousand customers to manage and a red-hot 'Blackberry', the workload was rather high while Michelle's attention was also drawn to her son. In his pre-school years, behavioural problems emerged that confirmed her suspicion of ASD or autism. Consequently, she left Transics for a job in .net development closer to home, which turned out to be the wrong choice. Fortunately, the first contacts with Kohera had already been made since her time at Transics. The step for a closer cooperation was quickly taken, despite Michèle's self-doubt.
Are family and consultancy compatible when you have a caring role?
In practice, it is actually the other way round. Just because agreements are made between Kohera and the customer, there is more distance. As a consultant, you are less bound by the client's rules and do not have to defend yourself directly for things like flexible hours, days off, and so on. If there is a problem, it is discussed between the companies. Kohera is a kind of extra buffer to defend practical agreements with a company for me. Furthermore, you have to make agreements within your family. Sometimes you just have to dare and make it work. Moreover, the support at Kohera is good; it is the best workplace I have had so far. The job fits my character perfectly.
What is your role now?
I'm still doing the same work as an SQL-DBA but skipping between my comfort zone and more challenging assignments with different customers. I need that balance.'
You have a very special job title on your Linkedin; Mother of Data-Dragons. It sounds rather obscure. What lies behind it?
I am a woman and I am here'.
Do you know Game of Thrones? I was in the middle of it when I started at Kohera, the series was very popular at the time. The Mother of Dragons starts small and has many talents that no one sees. She gradually grows and eliminates all opponents. It's very epic, I'm a mother, I'm a woman and I'm there. Caring from the maternal instinct is central.'
That is a very nice analogy. What are your greatest successes and where are the challenges?
Passing the IT diploma is certainly one of them. Starting a family and bringing up children is another great achievement. You often come up against yourself and the experience of bringing up children is something you take with you to work. You learn to put things into perspective and take into account how others think and react. With our daughter, everything went smoothly; our son is a different story. The diagnosis of ASD was preceded by a months-long process; it takes a while to get everyone on board. We are mainly trying to work on his self-confidence. I'm afraid he will ignore his talents because he will have a hard time in person.’
In private too, you are Mother of Dragons then. What do you still want to do?
As an SQL expert, there are many opportunities to share knowledge with larger groups. A panel discussion with a large audience, for example, is still a challenge. For now, I am not there yet, but I will get there.'
Beautiful! Finally, we would like to ask you who you would like to meet one day?
That is so difficult. I love to read, often I would like to thank the author because the story fascinates or moves me so much. There are also many people in the SQL world that I could potentially meet, but there are many. I can't really pick one out. What is important is that it is someone I can really learn something from and have engaging discussions with.'