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Linh Nguyen My
Software engineer, ASOS
And - CodeFirst:Girls instructor; Codebar coach
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Reach out to people and don't be afraid to network.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
My job is to build new features for ASOS.com and make sure the website runs smoothly. If something on the website breaks that my team is in charge of, we try to fix it ASAP. Everyday is problem solving for me.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS FIELD?
I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy university but I had no passion there. After finishing, I started to explore London more and see what opportunities are out there. I came across coding as I attended an event hosted by CodeFirst:Girls. They're an organisation that help to get more women into tech by offering free coding classes! Having spoken to them at the event I went ahead to apply to their course and luckily I got in!
I found programming really difficult to grasp during the course, however after finishing it, I just wanted to really understand it and decided to pursue it further by attending various coding meetups. Needless to say it took me about 18 months of coding and applying to jobs before I got my first role which is where I currently am at ASOS!
WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT & THINK, "I WISH YOUNGER ME WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS WAS POSSIBLE?"
I wish I knew I didn't have to go to university I would have also saved a lot of money. What I am currently doing doesn't even require a degree. I think society is changing and soon people will be able to teach themselves various things from the comfort of their own home.
WHY DO YOU LOVE WORKING IN STEM?
Solving problems. Everyday is different and there are new problems to solve.
BEST ADVICE FOR NEXT GENERATION?
If you want to get into coding, you don't need to have a Computer Science degree (unless that's what you want and you're going to university to get the full experience). Reach out to people and don't be afraid to network.
INSPO / FUN FACT
Just got myself a curve card which is basically a bank card which you can load your other bank cards onto it and choose which one you want to use. This way you only need to carry one card!