How I Accidentally (But Also Not Really) Ended Up in Tech

Hello, it’s Rona - glad to see you here. 🌸 

Let me tell you how I ended up in Tech. 

Spoiler: it’s not as dramatic as you think, but it is very me. 

Back in high school, I was under a contract with Philippine Science High School that basically told me, “Pick a course in science, math, or technology.” 

So I did the math (pun intended) and enrolled in BS Electronics and Communications Engineering at UP Diliman. 

Not exactly a passion-led choice -- more like contractually obligated, but it worked out surprisingly well. 

One random career fair in UP changed everything. 

A Japanese company called Anritsu visited, conducted an exam and interview for around 300+ students, and somehow I became one of only seven people who passed. 

Thanks to that accident (a story for another day haha), I got hired even before graduating in June 2018. 

By October 2018, armed with basic Japanese, three suitcases (two medium-sized, one hand carry), and naive optimism, I flew to Japan, lived alone in a company dorm, and officially entered the tech world. 

My first role was as a Research and Development Engineer at Anritsu in Kanagawa, Japan.

This is the job that used my brain cells the MOST. Like… ever.

I designed metal detection systems for food and pharma industries, tweaked frequencies, worked on image processing, and handled end-to-end hardware and software development.

It was exhausting (an understatement) but incredibly fulfilling (also, an understatement).

It also forced me to speak better Japanese, because apparently you need language skills to argue with senior engineers about electromagnetic waves. lol

During my three years there, I automated as many processes as I could and eventually received four company awards:

Not bad for a girl who still couldn’t eat natto.

Then the pandemic happened.

I got homesick (for a small reason, but with big emotions), packed my things, and went back home.

I accepted the first job that hired me -- not the most strategic choice, but honestly one of the decisions I’m most grateful for.

Because that’s where my actual Tech career in the Philippines began.

My first tech job in the Philippines was at Accenture, under the Order-to-Cash (OTC) process for the SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) module.

This is where my SAP story started.

And because I hate manual work, I ended up automating accounting processes “for fun,” which got me a recognition award.

Then I left one year later, as one does.

After Accenture, I spent two years at Fujitsu as a Bilingual SAP Consultant / Bridge System Engineer (BSE).

I handled their biggest SAP account, worked across PH and Japan, and collected two more awards before moving on.

Currently, I’m with IBM as the Department Head for SAP Technologies and Applications and Operations Service Line Lead for the Japan Client Service Unit (JCSU).

My work involves:

On the side, I champion AI adoption in the SAP field.

In just one year since starting (Nov 4, 2024), my SAP AI teams have:

AI girl era unlocked.

Sometimes I amaze myself knowing everything connected so neatly:

If the order had been different, would I still end up here?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But so far, seven years in tech have been unexpectedly great.

Looking forward to year eight. 💙