When did you first become interested in programming, and what drew you to Python specifically?

I actually started quite late in comparison to many other programmers I know, because I didn’t really have any contact with it at school, and my idea of it was mostly constructed out of stereotypes.

By the time I was choosing university classes, I felt like it was already too late to start, and I was probably not going to like it anyway, so I was avoiding the topic without even trying. Luckily enough, I eventually picked an engineering degree that still required me to pass a beginner programming course, and it turned out that I just needed to give it a chance to find out that I enjoyed it.

My first experience with Python solidified that sentiment, as I felt something immediately “click” in my head when I started using the language - it just feels so natural to use. It offers great flexibility which I really value. 

Can you walk us through your career path? How did you get to where you are today?

As I mentioned before, my university time definitely shaped a more favorable view of the IT field, and I started considering a career that was adjacent to it, but I didn’t think about really going into programming back then. 

I majored in power engineering and my idea was to focus on IT applications in the power industry, eventually landing an internship in a company which was specializing in exactly that. It was my supervisor there who suggested I take on more programming-related tasks. They quickly became my favorite, I was good at them, so I kept on going in that direction and as I continued employment there I eventually realized that my job had become that of a full-time software developer. It was only natural for me after that to continue my career in this field.

What advice would you give to young women considering a career in programming, particularly with Python?

I think the most important thing is to not be afraid of trying many different things and areas of specialization. Many of us are conditioned to see a career path as a linear journey where you pick a direction early on in life and then just keep moving forward, and every attempt at changing this direction can feel like it requires you to start the entire trip over. I think it’s less prominent in the younger generation, where I can see people are more flexible, but you can still have all these thoughts holding you back, like “What if it’s not actually something for me”, “What if I’m not going to be good enough”, “What if I’ll just waste my time by trying this thing that I never did before”. I felt like this, and it was liberating to understand that there’s no actual deadline to figuring out what you want to do and that if something turns out to be not really for me I can just move on, and maybe the next thing will be it. 

And with Python, it is particularly important because it is widely used in many different applications, from web development to data analysis to machine learning, and all those areas require different skills despite using the same language, so even after you learn the basics there are still so many things you can do with it. You may be particularly suited to one of them, but often you can’t know it without trying.

What's your opinion on the future of Python? Where do you see the language and its ecosystem heading?

Well, it’s probably the most obvious answer, but the current popularity of AI solutions means that the branch of Python usage related to it will likely be the most quickly growing. But I think that with it, even the applications of Python in unrelated areas will also follow. The versatility of the language and its ability to be used for various purposes is something very valuable in today’s market - JavaScript comes to mind as another example - because it allows you to adapt to the changing environment while keeping the core of your product consistent.

Have you had any mentors in your career? How important do you think mentorship is in tech?

I definitely did, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Of course, there are different kinds of people, so I can’t speak for everyone, but I am the kind of person who grows the most when I get the chance to learn from the people who surround me, so a good mentorship can be absolutely priceless, and the same goes for a supportive work environment and a professional team, all of which I found at Polcode and I see how they shaped me.

I think being able to see the various paths you can take in your career, to discuss the challenges that you may face before that happens, is a kind of preparation that is hard to replace with any other sort of training. 

Looking back on your career so far, what's been your proudest achievement?

Various particular milestones come to mind when you ask this, and it’s very tempting to pick one of them as an example, but I think that would obscure the true key to success that only comes to light when I look at them as a whole, and I think that key is adaptability.

I think what really connects them is that each of them required me to deal with an unfamiliar environment, an unexpected situation, a skillset that I never used before, and since then I had to apply that knowledge many times in cases that were very different from each other.

I know now that no matter how much I learn there are always going to be things that surprise me, but the more important thing is that I also know eventually I am going to handle them anyway. 

And last… If you weren't a Python programmer, what would your dream job be?

Honestly, if you asked me this question once every past few months you’d probably get a different answer each time ;) The most straightforward answer would be that I’d stay in the field that I studied because I still consider it fascinating, but over time I also saw people doing many completely unrelated jobs and thought “That would be something I’d probably enjoy doing”.

I recently felt like this about jobs related to organizing big events - that’s probably quite stressful most of the time, but when the event you’ve been putting so much effort into finally happens, that must be an incredible moment. I think that’s what connects it to software development - it’s just extremely rewarding to be able to see the result of your work come to life.