乌鸦传媒

Sarah Gon莽alves wasn鈥檛 always a data engineer. In her previous career, as an archaeologist, she hunted dragons.

The story goes like this: during one expedition, her team discovered a collection of swords from the Gallic period at an archaeological site in France. Identifying the artifacts was difficult until they deployed a piece of technological wizardry.

Hi-tech histories

鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize how innovative the sector has become,鈥� explains Sarah. 鈥淎rchaeologists routinely use tools that have evolved from the medical and military sectors, as well as data-led AI techniques.鈥�

Using a process called tomography, which involves a huge imaging machine, Sarah and her team scanned the swords and made a thrilling discovery. 鈥淪uddenly, we saw dragon engravings on the swords that had been invisible to the naked eye,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e cried out with delight, because it confirmed the swords belonged to a specific culture, and the discovery would completely change our interpretation of the site.鈥�

A passion for the past

Sarah studied archaeology at the Sorbonne in Paris, and went on to achieve an MA, specializing in wood and unfired-clay constructions from the Gallic period. She later worked for the Louvre gallery, helping to promote the wider discipline, and participating in several archaeological digs.

While digs were definitely the most exciting part of the job, Sarah was always interested in the new technologies available to researchers. 鈥淎s well as tomography, archaeologists use photogrammetry, augmented reality, and computer-aided design to analyze finds and map historical sites.鈥�

Winds of change

This interest would be crucial when Sarah took the decision to retrain, using some of the skills she had gained in the archaeological profession in a new career. 鈥淎 great deal of archaeology involves sifting through archives and referencing geological and topographical data. As I was already familiar with databases and how to analyze them, I thought I鈥檇 try to enter the field of data and digital.鈥�

Sarah joined the Microsoft AI School for nine months of intensive training, before undergoing a year of work placements at 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 乌鸦传媒 and Data part of the business, which has a partnership with the course. Soon afterwards, she was offered a permanent job with 乌鸦传媒.

Sense of service

鈥淚n my previous career, I loved working for public institutions on projects that helped society through greater knowledge and understanding,鈥� says Sarah. 鈥淒uring my retraining, I realized a career in technology would allow me to do this.鈥�

At 乌鸦传媒, she is involved in building a data lake and AI tools for a public sector client to help automatically identify vessels that are worthy of further investigation. 鈥淚鈥檓 really pleased to be doing something worthwhile by helping the authorities work more effectively,鈥� says Sarah.

Digging the data

Although Sarah hasn鈥檛 hunted any dragons recently, she feels there is a clear continuity between her current role and previous career. 鈥淎s an archaeologist, you鈥檙e searching for clues and digging beneath the surface to find treasures from the past. Now, as a digital engineer, I鈥檓 using AI and data to reveal patterns and make discoveries 鈥� I鈥檓 still digging, but in a different way.鈥�

For her, there鈥檚 a common characteristic that links the two professions: 鈥淵ou need to be curious, that鈥檚 the key. The desire to seek and find things out.鈥�

Positive transition

Looking back on the two years since she retrained, Sarah feels proud of her evolution. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure whether I could succeed in the technology sector or whether I would like it, but I love my work now,鈥� she says. 鈥淎longside my main role, I鈥檝e been a scrum master for the past year and I鈥檓 in charge of onboarding newcomers to the project.鈥�

Moreover, her experience in archaeology feels like an asset, giving her a broader, more contextualized view. 鈥溛谘淮�媒 seems to really value my background, and I would strongly recommend to anyone who is considering a career change to jump at the chance. The digital field is now so diverse that, as long as you鈥檙e curious, you鈥檙e certain to find something you enjoy.鈥�

Sarah has had an idea to use AI to search for possible archaeological sites that are currently unknown by using an algorithm to sift through a database of geographical and topographical data. By using data from existing sites 鈥� proximity to water, mountains, valleys, and so on 鈥� she hopes to anticipate and locate sites that haven鈥檛 been discovered, but which have the potential to yield artefacts. She is doing this alongside her work at 乌鸦传媒.