What it's like being a Female Developer in Technology!

Sarah has been working for Class for the last 2 years. She has worked as a Software Developer for the last 15-20 years so I was keen to see what challenges she has faced, overcome and what's next for her!

How long have you been a Software Developer?

15-20 years, I started off working at St George bank as a phone banking (IVR) Developer and then moved to web development. I've always worked in Microsoft technology, .Net, .Netcore. I join monthly meet-ups "AltNet" to update my skills on the latest technology. I encourage everyone to do this as the world is always evolving, it never sits still.

How does Class connect with your “why”?

Interestingly my husband happens to be an accountant, he helps me understand the domain. Class is medium sized company, it enables the technology to move faster without a lot of red tape and also it has so many avenues to learning and development which I love. I really like the "social contract" advocated in Class, you feel respected and safe to express your ideas. I love my team, everyone is willing to help each other out. I learn a lot from Scott and Quentin (Principal Developers) and I see them as my mentors. Alexis (CTO) is so accommodating with her time, I appreciate that she always finds the time to talk to staff to look after our needs and allows us express our idea's freely. @quentin

I love the Scrum/Agile methodology adopted by Class, we clarify business/technical requirements during the refinement session and have a fruitful discussion during our retro to see what we have done well and what can be improved, this enables us to build better software.

You are a female Developer – do you find that challenging at all?

Initially it was a male dominated area, I felt the environment was intimidating in my early career, but recently the culture has changed a lot as there are a lot more females in the industry and there is more advocate for female voices and we are heard now, so much more of an inclusive environment. The most challenging bit was after I had young children, life is so hectic with managing young kids, work and study and health. Now that they are older, I have more freedom to do my work and study. My kids need a lot of attention from me - never ending! What I learn most is have faith in what you are doing, don’t buy into other people’s negativity and work hard to run towards your goal.

This virtual remote world – do you love it or loathe it?

The line between work/home boundary is more blurry and I find myself putting in more hours in work, but the good thing is I have time to do more study and see my kids more. The mixture of having time in the office, there is clearly more collaboration and solutions can be solved quicker than remotely but for now I will enjoy time with the family.

What cool technologies are you working on now?

AWS, Docker, .Netcore, Vue.js, and Microservices. We are learning some awesome innovating technologies, I'm encouraging my girls to develop and code as early as they can, we need the next generation of developers to start now so they can be our leaders in the future.

Wise words Sarah, thank you for sharing with me!