Your Path Is Valid, Even If It Doesn’t Look Like Anyone Else’s There is no single entry point into ICT and no single way to build something meaningful within it. Fieldwork, credentials, career pivots and motherhood all shape how we show up. My decade as an electrician didn’t hold me back; it prepared me for the work I do now. Whether you’re just starting out, well into your career or somewhere in between, your experience in this industry has value. Own it, invest in yourself and help design pathways not just for networks but for the women coming up behind you.
Constructability, Credentials, and Career Resilience: One Woman’s Path Through ICT by Jasmine Scinto, RCDD, CTS I spent a decade on construction sites, often as the only woman on the jobsite, and I didn’t wait to be welcomed. The only way in was through: show up, do the work and let that speak for itself. My path into the information and communications technology (ICT) industry didn’t start with a degree. It started with a vocational high school electrical program and 10 years of fieldwork that taught me how systems actually come together, not on paper but in the real world, under pressure and with my own hands. From the Field to the Table When I was ready to move beyond physical installation, I found a position as an estimator for a low-voltage integrator. I was hired because of my field experience, and that background changed how I approached the work. Estimating also introduced me to the broader ICT industry and, for the first time, to BICSI. That exposure opened up a world I hadn’t known existed and reframed something important: my field experience wasn’t a limitation. It was a foundation most people in the room didn’t have. More than words from WOMEN BICSI in
The transition into consulting came naturally. After my second child, the commute wasn’t sustainable anymore. I told my supervisor I was looking for something more flexible, and he referred me to a consulting firm. That referral showed me a path I hadn’t known was available. The move into consulting also made earning the Registered Communications Distribution Designer® (RCDD®) credential feel urgent. In a male-dominated industry, credentials carry particular weight for women. The RCDD shifted conversations from questioning my presence to trusting my judgment. For women still underrepresented in this field, that kind of validation can become professional currency. What the Field Gave Me That a Classroom Couldn’t My years in the field gave me something you can’t learn from a drawing: constructability. I don’t just see lines on drawings; I see where design meets reality and where the gap between the two becomes costly. I design with installers in mind because I was one. That experience still makes me better at what I do today. The Career That Grew With My Life Becoming a mother changed the equation. As a mom of two, I needed a career that could keep pace with my life without asking me to choose between professional ambition and being present for my family. Consulting gave me that possibility through flexibility, trust and a focus on what I delivered rather than where I was. I manage complex projects with the same precision I bring to managing a household, without feeling that one part of my life has to come at the expense of another.
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Community Corner | 23
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