From tech to marketing, a long-awaited career change. Meet Kylie.
Kylie Sultana was always an enthusiastic learner looking for opportunities to upskill, but was becoming increasingly disenchanted with her technical IT career. Keen to break into the fast-growing world of digital marketing, she enrolled for the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing and fulfilled a long-term ambition to pursue a more creative, business-focused career. With her Diploma certificate hot off the press, she’s just landed a new role as Affiliate Marketing Assistant at LeoVegas. This is her story.
I graduated with a Bsc. in IT and Networking from Middlesex University. All my job roles were always in relation to IT, from IT Assistant, to Technical Officer in the NOC Department, to Senior System Administrator. I obtained my PRINCE2 certification in Project Management and was always keen to develop myself skillswise. But to be honest, I’m more of a business-minded person and creative at heart, so studying business and marketing was always what I wanted and felt that I could excel in.
Back in 2012, there weren’t many courses that I could take that would satisfy the career I wanted but I always hoped I’d be able to steer my IT work towards marketing. Then during COVID, I noticed that the demand for jobs across the digital field – marketing, graphic design, web design, etc. – were suddenly exploding! I figured it could be a great time to make the change.
I discovered ICE by mostly means of recommendations from other students in addition to ads and posts on social media. The fact that the course carries official certification from the Digital Marketing Institute was very important to me because I realised it would make me stand out to potential employers and recruiters and add credibility to my CV.
I saw so many success stories featured by ICE Malta on people who had taken the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing course and changed their career paths, it inspired me to do the same. I am glad I did, as not only I scored high marks in the exam but I also landed my first marketing role at an iGaming company!
My learning experience was smooth and very enjoyable with no hassle whatsoever! With lessons held online, it made it easier for me to finish from work and just connect for the lesson without the need to leave home especially during the pandemic period. I enjoyed all of the learning experience, from connecting with other students, to learning the fundamentals. The real life examples that were given by the lecturer also made it easier for me to understand certain concepts, and he was very patient in taking us through each module from scratch.
What excites me the most about the digital marketing world is mostly how vast the field is that there are so many sectors that you can work in and different fields that will help you to grow, change, and learn by moving from one path to another. I found that in IT, it wasn’t as easy to move flexibly between roles, and I really couldn’t see myself staying there forever.
Now, I have the opportunity to use some of my technical skills – such as HTML, CSS, and web optimization – in a more creative, strategic way. I’m definitely aiming to climb higher in marketing and will keep on learning to build my knowledge and experience.
It’s been a long time coming because I’ve been wanting to break into marketing for so long, but so far so good!
I’m currently getting up to speed on the Affiliation side of things and I am enjoying the whole journey. Everything is new, from the job role to the culture, and also the diversity found in the company. I am not used to it yet as I have never worked in iGaming before!
I am always on the lookout for new training courses that I can take to develop myself and grow. I know that the digital marketing industry moves incredibly quickly and that you have to be proactive in order to keep up with such changes. For that reason, I’m definitely interested in the Digital Marketing Expert Postgraduate course and perhaps the Graphic Designer Associate course in the near future to raise my game.
I saw so many success stories featured by ICE Malta on people who had taken the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing course and changed their career paths, it inspired me to do the same.
KYLIE SULTANAAffiliate Marketer
