Women in Tech series - Maryam's Experience

We would love to be able to share stories of women in tech, in the hope that it will inspire young women thinking of starting out, or women who are trying to find their way against the odds.

In this blog, we highlight Maryam’s experience as a woman in tech. Maryam speaks about what made her want to work in tech, her start in the tech by completing a degree, her career highlights and what women can do to get started.

When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in technology, and why?

When I was at high school I loved mathematics and my programming courses.

The computer science field was fairly new at that time and it was a natural fit for me to choose this field.

Where and how did you start?

I did a bachelor degree in computer science in Iran and then opened a startup IT company right after graduation.

To be honest, it was mainly due to my father's encouragement that made me open my own company at that young age.

After 2 years I decided to challenge myself more so I left for Malaysia to do a master's degree in Software engineering.

I worked one year at Experian company in Malaysia as a QA and then moved to Canada to do a Phd in computer science and I graduated in 2013.

Any particular highlights of your career?

Last year I decided to leave my team and my job when I was at the peak of my growth just because I wanted to be out of my comfort zone. That was a very hard decision for me to make. The lesson I learned is to stay out of your comfort zone as soon as you can, as much as you can.

Are there any challenges you have faced being a woman in tech?

I think our generation thankfully is much more open than the previous generation in terms of accepting women.

I honestly never felt un-welcomed or looked down at by my male peers anywhere in my career. But I have to admit that having a balanced portion of male and female makes the team more balanced, productive and fun.

Is there anything women can do to get started, such as courses, conferences to attend etc?

There are so many courses and learning materials right now that if anyone is interested in tech, they have unlimited resources to use. I would say, choose any course that matches with your learning style.

What can be done to raise awareness and encourage women to work in Tech?

• Get involved at the education level especially at highschool level

• Get insights into the challenges and barriers women experience in the tech world.

• Support female tech thought leaders

• Offer mentoring and professional development

• Writing blogs and interviewing women in tech (Like what you are doing is amazing)

Best piece of advice?

Being a female or male does not make any difference in your success in IT, your hard work, focus and persistence does.

We’d like to thank Maryam for her insightful contribution to this blog. Based on her experience, insight and knowledge, we hope that her story will inspire and motivate many women in tech, or women thinking of joining the tech industry.

At UMATR, we encourage diversity in the workplace, and work with tech companies that share the same values as us. We’re happy to say that we’ve placed several female software engineers across many companies, and we continue to do so.

Are you a female engineer looking for a new Scala role, or a tech company looking for talent? Get in touch with hello@umatr.io and work with us today. At UMATR, as tech recruiters, we are committed to helping you find your dream role, or finding your ideal talent Because You Matter.

#BecauseUMATR 💙💫