She began training as a solicitor but left and qualified as a shorthand typist instead. She attended Commercial College and became a shorthand typist. Also at this time Stevens was working during the day as a shorthand typist. As a young woman she worked as a shorthand typist. Mary attended the Presentation Convent in Wexford, where she qualified as a shorthand typist. Jael Mbogo was born in 1939 in Kenya and trained as a shorthand typist. In her early days, she spent fourteen years working as a shorthand typist in Manchester. After leaving school in 1973, she took a job as a shorthand typist. Her family's fortune spent, Geraldine earned a living as a shorthand typist. Her cover story was that she was "Mademoiselle Yvonne Bernier", a shorthand typist and secretary.