How I Became - a Software Developer.
How I Became - a Software Developer w/ Hot Girls Code.
Welcome to the ‘How I Became’ series where Billie talks to girls across New Zealand who are killing it in their chosen career and see how they got there!
Trying to decide what you ‘want to be when you grow up’ is hard enough as it is and your careers counsellor probably won’t have all the answers you need.
HIB aims to give you a bit of insight into different career paths and what it takes to get there.
Name: Aorthi Afroza & Lola Garden
Age: 26 + 24
Current job: Full Stack Developer / Founders of Hot Girls Code
Firstly, what drew you to software engineering?
A: I’ve always loved problem solving and that’s what initially drew me to engineering. Initially, I didn’t think I’d like software (I thought it would be dull and way too hard!) and then I did a software paper in my first year of uni and realised how fun and accessible coding can be! I love that all you need is a laptop and access to the internet and you can build something that can really make a difference in the world. Also I love learning so it's nice to be in a career where I get to spend my time learning about cool tech things.
L: I really enjoyed physics and maths in school so I was like “I’ll do engineering!!”. At the University of Auckland where we both studied, you do a broad first year with papers from lots of different specialisations. So I tried out a bit of civil, mechanical, chemical, & all these other kinds of engineering, but my favourite paper was the coding paper. Before that, I had only ever coded the HTML of my Tumblr page when I was like 13 (if you know, you know) so it was all new to me! But that’s when I decided I wanted to specialise in software engineering, and the rest is history.
What subjects did you take in high school that you think helped?
A: I think the biggest thing that helped me was the problem solving skills I learnt from maths when I was at school - learning about how to break a problem down and methodically solve each part is something that comes in handy in software. But also I feel like the creativity I learnt from doing A-level drama (I did Cambridge at my school) has also been really helpful - it makes me think about the entire system I work on as many moving parts that work together to run something great, just like how in theatre you have many different parts to put together a show.
L: I took ICT in year 13 when I first started to think that a career in tech would be cool. ICT wasn’t directly related to what I do now & I didn’t learn how to code or anything like that, but it did teach me a bit about how to work with stakeholders to get requirements which is definitely relevant for software development. Also if you do want to study engineering, there are normally some maths and physics requirements so definitely check that out if that’s something you’re keen to look into.
What did your pathway towards starting your career look like?
A: I went through a very traditional pathway of studying engineering at university and I did two internships during the summers of my degree. I really loved the path I took because it really worked for me - I love structure and learning through projects and the degree I did (computer systems engineering) really suited my learning style for that. And then my internships gave me some great hands-on experience and made me fall in love with the industry - I still work at the company I had my second internship at! I’ve been really lucky to get to meet some inspiring and supportive people especially at the beginning of my career who’ve helped to really dive head first into the tech industry and just take every bit of learning I can get.
L: My engineering degree had a practical hours component which meant you had to get 800 hours of work experience in order to graduate. This meant most engineering students would do internships over summer and this was my first real taste of the software engineering industry! I did three internships at 3 different companies then worked 2 days a week as a junior developer in my final year of uni. This gave me great real world experience and a basis for getting a full time role in tech as a junior developer!
What did you study/where/how long did it take?
A: I studied Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Auckland which is a 4 year degree.
L: I studied Software Engineering at the University of Auckland which is a 4 year degree (Aorthi & I met at uni as we were both part of the Women in Engineering Network!)
What’s the best thing about your job?
A: I love the balance between logical thinking and creative problem solving. People think coding is really black and white, but there’s a lot of opportunities to be creative in how you design your technical approach and carry it out.
L: I think the tech industry is a great place to be because there are always new technologies coming out & it’s cool to see these be incorporated into products. I also love working as part of a tight-knit team and knowing I have my co-workers to ask for help or have some banter with!
What’s the hardest part?
A: Probably when you start off in a new area or new technology and for the first couple of weeks you feel like a total idiot who doesn’t know what they’re doing (but luckily, eventually you learn and the imposter syndrome feelings go away!). It's become easier thanks to Hot Girls Code because I’m getting used to diving into things and breaking them down.
L: I would say the breadth of things to learn! It’s a double edged sword because on one hand it’s awesome that tech is always evolving, but it also means you have to keep up with it! (Not literally all of it luckily!)
What surprised you most about your job once you started working?
A: How collaborative it is! People don’t just spend all their time sitting at their computers, headphones on & ignoring the world (that only happens sometimes). Usually it’s a lot of working with the other people in your team to try and come up with solutions together or offer feedback on each other's work.
L: Probably just how much people are willing to help you learn. When you first start out, at an internship or a junior role, you’re not expected to know everything. This means it’s a great opportunity to learn and luckily, in my experience, everyone has been super willing to help me grow!
What does an average day look like for you?
A: Most days I start off with focus time in the morning (I’m a morning person so I like to start early and finish early), have my morning standup meeting with my team where we discuss what we’ve all been working on and plan to work on that day, then the day can vary with a mix of meetings with the team, time coding on my own, time coding with someone else in my team, releasing changes to customers, technical design sessions with the team, and fixing any issues that customers might be having live on site. And in between all that I get distracted by all the cool people I work with, whether that be chats in the office or memes in our slack channels if I’m working from home. Every day varies a lot.
L: Unlike Aorthi, I am not a morning person but I do try to start work 30 mins before my team’s stand up at 9 to get myself sorted for the day. Then the day tends to vary - depending on what day it is, we might have sprint planning where we decide what work we want to commit to as a team for the next two weeks. Or we might have refining where we make sure everyone is clear on the next piece of work we’re picking up. Outside of meetings, I normally get a solid few hours of time to code - sometimes by myself and sometimes with my teammates! There’s also a lot of banter in our team's Slack channel and if it’s a good day, I will coerce one of the teammates to bring their cat on camera in our meetings.
What advice would you give to those looking to follow a similar career path?
A: When you start off, it can seem intimidating and scary but I promise you it’s not as scary as you think and you are MORE than good enough! Tech is shaping the world we live in and it’s so important to make sure we have diverse people building it - don’t let self-doubt stop you.
L: Take it one step at a time! As Aorthi said, tech can definitely be intimidating and we’ve both had our fair share of imposter syndrome. I think the best thing you can do is face one challenge at a time - if you want to learn how to code, pick one coding language and chip away at it (even just 30 mins a day) until you feel more confident. Our podcast Hot Girls Code has loads of episodes that will help - whether you’re just getting into coding, looking for your first internship, or wanting to learn about cool tech topics like AI!
What are the biggest challenges in your opinion to getting into software engineering?
A: I think one of the biggest challenges is feeling like you don’t know enough or aren’t smart enough. One of the main reasons we started our podcast was because we both felt like when we started our careers, we didn’t have relatable examples to learn from and we felt intimidated with how much jargon there was out there. So we started Hot Girls Code to be the people we needed back when we first started out in tech.
L: I absolutely agree with Aorthi here - the tech jargon can be confusing and is definitely a barrier to overcome which is a big reason we started Hot Girls Code. I think the biggest challenge to becoming a software developer is your own fear - fear that you won’t be good enough or that you’re not smart enough. But if you have a mindset that you’re there to learn and you’re not going to be perfect when you first start out, I think it can help a lot. Improvement > perfection!
What kind of skills does your job require?
A: Problem solving, communication and initiative are the top 3 things every developer needs. A lot of software development is breaking down a problem, coming up with solutions, and making sure you can communicate with the people around you to make those solutions happen. Taking initiative is also super important because tech can move quite quickly so it’s important to be able to take the initiative and adapt as things change.
L: The main skill a developer needs is the ability to problem solve - if you like to be given a problem and asked to come up with a great solution, you can be an awesome software developer! Honestly I also feel like the soft skills you need to be a great developer are often overlooked too. If you can’t communicate your technical solution to other people, then it’s not super helpful. So communication skills are really important!
What part of your job gives you the most satisfaction?
A: When I finally solve a problem I’ve been stuck on for a while and my code just works - really makes me feel like my hard work and perseverance paid off!
L: It’s so satisfying when you get to release your code to the world! I love seeing features I’ve helped code appear online & being able to point out to my friends “I did that!”
What has been an absolute highlight of your career?
L: Starting Hot Girls Code with one of my besties! It’s been such a cool journey to see our vision come to life and we LOVE hearing from our listeners that we are actually helping them, whether they’re in high school deciding what to do next or career switches moving into tech. We love connecting with so many other women interested in tech and it’s fantastic to see people getting value from Hot Girls Code.
A: What Lola said! It's been amazing being able to take these technical concepts that I’ve struggled over in the past and help break them down in a way I wish I’d had explained to me. It's made me love and appreciate tech even more, and it's been such a fun experience!
What’s an unexpected element to your job that people don’t realise you have to do?
L: Coding actually involves a lot more collaboration than you might think! I used to have an image in my head of what coders look like - you know, the stereotypical geek who doesn’t like social interaction. But software development is actually a highly collaborative activity. You do pair programming with your co-workers (which just means you write code together), you review each other’s code, and there are tonnes of chats with other stakeholders like Product Managers or Designers. It’s definitely not the ‘loner’ job it’s made out to be!
A: Lola stole my answer. But to give a different one: How many people it takes to actually run a big website or app - there’s so many more than you’d think!
Describe your job in three words
A: Creative, collaborative, satisfying
L: Hot, Girls, Code
You can follow Hot Girls Code on Instagram.
