WOMEN IN TECH

Meet Chloe, network automation/recipe tester and developer

How did you become interested in tech?

There was always a laptop at home when I was growing up. My dad was a project manager and developer, so it was part of the discussions at home, and playing around with computers came naturally to me. I was also a gamer, which eventually led to me studying game development at Skelleftea University via a few years of civil engineering. Plus, I enjoy learning languages, which is a key to coding.

How long have you been working with tech?

I wrote my thesis assignment at Ductus in 2017. It wasn’t game development, far from it, but they offered me a thesis project, and Ductus seemed like a great company. I’ve been here ever since, working with network automation and orchestration, which really suits me. I’ve even built an open-source Python library in my spare time that is currently in use in a Python project with around 50,000 lines of code.

What does a typical day at work involve?

I don’t think we have a typical day, which is what I like about it so much. I work with Cisco, testing their network automation products such as Crosswork Workflow Manager and NSO. As the products’ code changes, so does our work, meaning what we do can change from day to day and week to week. What doesn’t change is the people in the team who I really enjoy working with.

What’s most interesting about your job?

I love the creativity, freedom, and daily challenges of the job. I work with automation, so I want my computer to be doing as much of the work as possible, leaving me to focus on problem-solving, which is what I’m good at and enjoy.

What advice would you give to somebody interested in pursuing a career like yours?

Just go for it. If you enjoy problem-solving and are interested in coding or languages, there’s no better profession, particularly if you find an open and friendly company like Ductus. There is so much opportunity to grow and branch out within IT, and there’s always something new to learn. I’m proof that what you study doesn’t have to be what you work with.

What do you do when you’re not crunching code?

I like to exercise and keep healthy, which means a lot less time gaming nowadays. I also enjoy trying out new recipes and putting my own spin on them. And recently I’ve become more interested in home design, including taking care of plants around my apartment.