Tell us about your education.
Nataliya: I have a degree in Computer and Intellectual Systems and Networks, and I am a systems engineer from the Zaporizhya National Technical University.
How did you get into the IT field? Is there a person who has contributed to this choice of yours and with what arguments did he win you?
Nataliya: I did not even think that one day I would become a programmer. I have always been interested in the "iron", the hardware, and the equipment itself. As a child, I always soldered something, at the age of 10 I built my first portable radio station. My friend and I did not have phones at home, so we used to communicate on the radio. At university, I enrolled in this specialty to learn to assemble and repair computers.
What was your first job (no matter the field) and how did you feel about it?
Nataliya: I started my first job in college. I worked in an online store where I assembled computers. At that time the computers were ordered in parts – a separate motherboard, a video card, a box, and everything else needed. My job was to assemble everything, check the compatibility of the individual parts, test whether it worked, and select the necessary power supply. I loved my job even though I was the only girl. Then a joke was told among the students about the girls in IT specialties – that even the biggest beauties do not receive as much attention as an only girl in a large IT company. Well, from my experience I can tell you that this was not true at all. In IT companies, girls who really understood their jobs and worked in the specialty were not perceived as girls. To the boys, they were just another comrade 😊.
How did you get your start in the IT industry? What were you doing at the time, and what do you remember about it?
Nataliya: I started working in the IT department of one of the big factories, but the system administrator looked with a pretty bad eye at a girl with a soldering iron in her hands, and when he saw me holding a drill because walls had to be drilled and network cables were to be spent, he directly told me, "You should go to the programmers." At the time, programming was seen more as a "female" specialty, desk work, while boys turned more to hardware majors. And although many girls enrolled and graduated in Programming, there were few who worked on the specialty. Since I realized that the boss would not give me the opportunity for career development in this "male" profession, and we had studied programming languages at least a little at the university and I had basic knowledge, I decided to start learning programming on my own. And to my surprise, it turned out good, I even liked it. I started working with databases in Oracle. Later in one of the companies I worked for, we developed Amazon's database, at a time when they were still a company that sold books. Who could have guessed what kind of giant they would become?
What is your position in the company where you work? How would you describe your work in a few sentences to someone outside your field?
Nataliya: I have been working in VSG Bulgaria for almost 4 years, my company assisted me with the documents for work and residence in Bulgaria. I am currently a Lead Data Base Developer. This is both a programmer, administrator, and database architect. The database is the heart of any project. It depends on the data structure whether the project will be able to develop and how simple or complex it will be to make applications for it and develop the logic of data processing.
Personally, what is most motivating and interesting in your work?
Nataliya: It is critical for me to be useful. When I can do something that others cannot or find difficult, I know I am needed and valued. People and the organization must both benefit. Of course, the salary is important as well. Salaries in the IT field are high, and for skilled professionals, they are even higher. I have a large family, and the job I enjoy pays well, it is extremely beneficial to me.
Who are your role models, the people you learn from?
Nataliya: I have a non-standard attitude towards teachers. There were few role models in my life, but there were many anti-examples, people whom I did not want to look like. One such anti-example is my mother. I practically tried to be the opposite in everything. She is very conservative and has worked all her life in the same enterprise. Although she has had some career growth. I, on the contrary, have always strived to look for something new, to learn innovative technologies, to implement different things in my workplace. My mother has lived in only one city all her life. I worked in different cities and now I even work in another country. Mom has always divided the work into male and female, and I have always tried to be able to do everything myself and not wait for men to do something.
What is the biggest challenge of being a woman in an IT company?
Nataliya: The trickiest thing is when you start a job in a new company. Unfortunately, women are still viewed with prejudice, and it happens at the beginning even if the pay to be lower. But I have always managed to quickly prove myself and change the opinion of others about myself.
One of the clichés is that the IT industry is for men. How do you feel among your colleagues?
Nataliya: I've grown up with boys since I was a kid, so I feel completely comfortable. In addition, more women are turning to the profession, and there is a break in this prejudice. In our company, the ratio of women and men is quite good, and more young girls work with us, both as developers and QAs.
What are the biggest clichés you have heard about women in the IT industry?
Nataliya: The most common thing is that women start working in the IT field to get married. I, in turn, got married in college and when I started working, I already had 3 children, so I have never experienced this cliché on my back.
What are your interests, how do you relax and what do you like to do in your free time?
Nataliya: I love spending time with my children and grandchildren, traveling with them at sea or in the mountains. I love Mystery Rooms, detective series and movies. Of the computer games, I like strategies and quests the most.
If you could turn to girls who are now deciding where their career path should go, what would you tell them – why choose IT?
Nataliya: Analytical thinking is extremely important in the IT field. If you do not have one, you should avoid pursuing this profession entirely. Because there are still more men working in the field, you must either be equal to them or not fit in at all. You cannot learn to work in the IT field unless you possess analytical thinking and planning abilities. Struggling to break into a high-paying field without these skills can cost you many years of wasted effort and even jeopardize your entire career. IT, like any other specialty or job, should be understood and appreciated. My two younger daughters work in information technology, while my eldest, who has a different way of thinking, chose to become a cook instead.
