News

Ruby Le is putting her whole heart into an IT career

International student Ruby Le was a lawyer before she moved to Australia. Now, she’s a fully-fledged IT professional — and it’s all thanks to ACU.

You were a lawyer in your home country of Vietnam, but you decided to study IT when you moved to Australia. What inspired you to change careers?
I worked for a law firm for more than six years in Vietnam, but I discovered that it can take a long time to become a qualified lawyer here in Australia with my foreign qualification. I then considered other career paths. The client side of IT felt like a good alternative option because I love solving problems for other people and I love communication and analysis. I could also see that in the IT industry in Australia, there are a lot of opportunities, even for international students. I thought it would be easy for me to find a job after I graduated.

You enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Informatics*. Why did you choose this degree, and why did you want to study at ACU?
The degree combined business and IT. I thought the mix of skills would help me get the sort of job I wanted. The reason I picked ACU is because it has a good reputation and affordable tuition fees. I also have a friend who works as a migration and education agent, and he suggested that I enroll at ACU because it’s a great choice for international students, especially from Vietnam or Asia.

What was it like studying IT at ACU? What were some of the most valuable things you learnt?
The lecturers were very enthusiastic and they supported me a lot. They even gave me a letter of reference when I was applying for jobs. During my degree, I gained skills in teamwork and business analysis, and I was selected for CISCO MentorMe, which is a mentoring program for female IT students. I also completed three core curriculum subjects that taught me about ethics, good conduct and good practice. The knowledge has helped me feel confident about approaching new people and professional situations with an open mind.

You’re now an architecture analyst working in ACU’s IT directorate. How did you find the job?
I actually got the first-ever internship with ACU’s IT team as part of my degree. I reached out to them and said, ‘I want to intern at ACU. They said, ‘We’re willing to support you.’ When I finished the two-month internship, they offered me a job. I started as a casual staff member and worked my way up to become a permanent full-time employee.

What advice do you have for other students who are thinking about enrolling in an Australian degree?
From my experience, the best approach is to be self-oriented. By this I mean you need to know what you want, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. It means you can get straight to the point when it comes to choosing a degree or a career. The second thing is try to put the whole heart in everything that you do. This will help you get the most out of your university experience. 

*The Bachelor of Commerce (Informatics) is no longer available — but there are lots of other Informatics courses available at ACU, including the Bachelor of Commerce (Data Analytics) or Bachelor of Information Technology!