Inside Solutions Engineer for APAC at GitHub Faten Healy tells Women Love Tech What It Is Like To Be A Coder?
Tell us what made you interested in Coding. Describe your job and how you got involved?
I’ve had a keen interest in technology ever since I was in primary school, which lead to my decision to study Telecommunications and IT Engineering at University.
It wasn’t until university when I understood the importance of software development and became interested in coding.
Currently, I work as an Inside Solutions Engineer for APAC at GitHub.
I started my career as a developer, and my experience, knowledge and understanding of the software development life cycle definitely helped me land the job!
In my role, I work closely with our sales team as a technical expert, assisting customers with their enquiries as well as identifying the right solutions to meet their needs.
One of the best parts about my job, is I don’t really have a typical day!
In a day, I could be developing new client strategies, visiting customers and presenting solutions, speaking at events for internal enablement sessions for my co-workers or teaching the fundamentals of coding.
Every day at GitHub is exciting and fulfilling! It forces me to push my own limits and think outside the box. It is rewarding to be able to work closely with our customers to resolve and deliver solutions that help achieve their business goals.
One of the main reasons I wanted to work at GitHub is the flexibility factor.
Over half of GitHub employees work remotely, which makes it really convenient for young families like mine. This also shows the power of technology and GitHub’s platform in bringing together workers from across the globe to collaborate effectively.
Is it a career you would recommend to other women?
Definitely! Working for GitHub is a great choice for women. Women are still a minority in the tech industry and while that won’t change overnight, there are opportunities, and rewards, for women who choose to chase dreams which do not conform to typical gender stereotypes.
Even if it’s not my specific role, there are many other roles in the tech industry beyond coding that women can be passionate about. Tech isn’t going away — many women use and love technology in their everyday lives and I hope the industry creates more opportunities to ensure women are better represented in the future.
Why do so few women code compared to men and how can we change that?
The perception of coding and technology as being a ‘male pursuit’ needs to change from a young age – this change needs to start at schools. We should encourage girls at a young age to get more involved by arming them with the right tools and mentorship, exactly what social enterprises such as Code Like a Girl are doing. We also need to give young girls more female role models to look up to, so they can feel inspired and empowered to pursue these fields.
I am also heartened by the efforts of organisations such as TechReady Women, who are empowering aspiring female founders of business leaders in technology. In a partnership between Tech Ready Women and GitHub last year, I had the opportunity to run short tech sessions with the aim to upskill the female business owners enrolled in the program.
I’ve also seen more STEM events for school students and female hackathons spring up every year (and have attended many of these as part of my role), which is encouraging!
What are your favourite apps, gadgets?
As a software engineer and developer, I wouldn’t be able to go a day without using GitHub — even if I didn’t work at the company! GitHub is known for being the most popular platform for open source projects with over 28 million users checking in on a daily basis. The platform is a great resource for developers of any level to learn from others and work together on coding projects.
In my personal life, Google Home is one of my favourite gadgets. We use it at home for all types of tasks — control lights, appliances, and entertainment apps such as Spotify, Netflix and Stan, or even check the weather. We have also set up some simple programs on our Google Home to amuse our kids and remind them that it’s bedtime!
