whoamI – my joyful journey into the unknown aka tech industry

This is a submission for the WeCoded Challenge: Echoes of Experience

How I got here: the big question. This is an attempt at a self-interview without making it awkward! Every once in a while I think it’s good to have a conversation with yourself, maybe even an interview of sorts, so if you want to know me better, read on! I got myself comfortable, turned off any distractions (except my favorite Spotify playlist “All Out 80s” or country, I know I know, I am an old soul) and took it seriously.

Whoami: I am Alex, or Maria-Alexandra, if we need to be formal, and my journey started off in Romania, where I was born. I was lucky as I had many science classes to take alongside humanities and most of my science teachers were women, so I always thought I belong in STEM. When time came to go to university, I decided to move to the UK, to the disappointment of my family, but I went on and did it, and today they couldn’t be more proud. I was passionate about content design and entrepreneurship so did my undergraduate in Business Management and Publishing media. I soon discovered that technology was really my passion through attending lots of events, hackathons, conferences, they all inspired me to change my career path. I think you could say that I am a unicorn, and if you ask anyone who knows me, they would tell you I love them, my 3D crochet project and Zoom ID can attest to that too!

Why a unicorn: Because I love working both in software engineering and design, I am a creative technologist, and we all need a bit of magic in our lives.

How did you get to where you are today: When I graduated from my undergraduate degree I moved to Barcelona, where I worked in Service Improvement for King, the makers of Candy Crush, and I was hooked, I knew that the tech industry was the place for me, especially on the creative side. During that time, Brexit happened and I decided to return to the UK, where I was fortunate to secure a place on the Tech Connect program at JPMC. And here we are over 10 years, 5 job roles, 5 promotions and 4 countries later. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do, it is entirely up to you to make it happen. Today, I work in the Public Cloud organization, finished my MSc in Computer Science at the University of Bath and in November 2020, I have been shortlisted for the TechWomen100 awards in the UK as well as won the Ambassador’s Diploma in the Graduate Student category from the Romanian Embassy to the UK. I am so proud of being recognized in this way and being nominated and shortlisted alongside amazing technology professionals from across industries and companies was a huge privilege.

What challenges or inspiration did you encounter along the way: Some of the challenges I encountered in my tech career have shaped who I am today but living away from all my family and friends from back home was one of the most difficult ones. I lived in more than 6 countries since I left Romania 13 years ago, but today, thanks to that I think I am culturally richer and more independent for it. I have friends all over the world thanks to my decision to move and be curious and this also helped with my transition into technology and every time I join a new team or start a new role. Thanks to my independence and curiosity and trust in humanity, I can learn at a fast pace, integrate into new environments and form relationships by having and inspiring trust in others.

I am very lucky to have created lasting relationships, partnerships and support networks in many of the locations and roles I had the fortune to be in. I think these are one of the most important elements in a career alongside skills and knowledge. Moreover, my whole interest in tech started with my mom inspiring me when I was little, as she was a computer operator in Romania in the 90s, when computers were a rare sight. She has been my inspiration ever since! I still try to call her every day, even if it is to just say hi. She taught me how important being kind and being curious to learn is and I keep that with me to this day.

What do you love about working in technology: I love the variety of domains and career paths you can have working in technology, you don’t have to only be a software engineer to work in tech, we need data wizards, designers and user researchers, tech writers, product managers, and so much more to build products people love to use.

Where do you want to go next: I moved to Scotland in the summer of 2020, I am hoping location wise I will not have to move anywhere else anytime soon, so far I am really happy and excited about my decision. Career wise, I have been extremely lucky to find a role that both challenges and complements my skills as I love delighting our engineers and customers and have great plans on how to offer them an even better experience!

Why STEM and tech and not something else:
My interest in STEM and tech began with my mum and continued in school and now my work. I am originally from Romania and there we have mandatory STEM classes until we graduate highschool. So this domain has always been a part of my life, It helped that we had a lot of stem teachers, my it biology, physics, chemistry teachers, they were all women. This bring me to an important lesson I learned, which is: surrounding yourself with role models, inspirational figures from diverse fields to open up your possibilities in terms of what you might enjoy studying or working in. Read about Ada Lovelace, Mary Jackson, Marie Curie, Katie Nouman and see what you can begin to learn.

My mom was a computer operator from when I was very young, this being Romania in the 90s computers were a rare sight. Seeing her doing her work with computers has always stayed with me. She encouraged me to follow my dreams and aspirations and that’s exactly what I did. I’ve now been working full-time in the tech industry for 10 years, initially interning at King, makers of Candy Crush in Barcelona, and then for JPMorganChase in the UK.

This brings me to my second point, whether STEM or tech is what you enjoy or not, do not be discouraged and persevere in doing what you feel is your calling. Reach out to mentors, build networks, attend hackathons, insight weeks, anything you can to gain access to the industry you want to be in. You got this!

Lastly, I wanted to tell you that it’s also okay to walk away, to change paths, to try out different roles, industries, whether you go from graphic design to fashion, whether you work as a lab researcher and have a side gig as a cake maker, we are all so wonderfully complex beings and one aspect of your life will never fully define you, it’s never to late to learn new skills.

I started out writing and designing, going to maths competitions in school, then went to India for a publishing internship, spent a placement year working in events management and luxury hospitality, worked in the gaming industry, became a software engineer coding virtual assistants, got an MSc in Computer Science alongside working, learnt how to knit unicorns and modern calligraphy, then pivoted to product management and marketing and finally next month moving into engineering practices and developer experience.
All these and more, have shaped who I am today and I wouldn’t change any of it. My biggest love is still STEM, I support, volunteer and mentor with organisations that help people from diverse backgrounds breakthrough into these fields, that’s my passion. I hope you find yours too and that you will help make sure we all have a say in building an ethical and diverse STEM landscape and world, because these industries touch all our lives.

To the question why STEM and specifically tech, because the world needs all of us, in our wonderful mix of talents, personalities, backgrounds, experiences, successes and failures and I am a part of it. Because STEM and tech should be for all and with all.