How Sandraβs coding knowledge is helping her in her work as a Microsoft Specialist
πββοΈ Before SheCodes
Sandra is originally from Munich, Germany, and is living there today. In university, she studied Business Administration and Management for her undergraduate degree. She then went on to work in various HR and marketing roles. After a few years of gaining some work experience, she went to NOVA SBE in Portugal to get her Masterβs in Management, focusing in Digital Business. While a student at NOVA, she got a job as a Working Student Channel Executive at Microsoft.Β
Apart from her work and studies, Sandra enjoys playing volleyball, cooking, completing DIY projects, and traveling.π π©βπ³ π¨ βοΈ Her interests span far and wide, but her curiosity in coding only arose after she starting working in the world of tech. π©βπ»
βSince I was highly interested in starting my career in tech I wanted to acquire coding skills that would let me stand out from the masses. Additionally, I was eager to expand my knowledge base with new skills and learn a new language.β
βSince I was highly interested in starting my career in tech I wanted to acquire coding skills that would let me stand out from the masses. Additionally, I was eager to expand my knowledge base with new skills and learn a new language.β
π©βπ» Her SheCodes Experience
Sandra found out about SheCodes through a colleague at her university. Since her interest was already peaked, she decided to go for it. She not only wanted to gain a solid coding foundation, she also wanted to learn more about how to understand and talk with developers and find out more about how certain technologies work.Β
βI wanted to learn more about talks between techies and understand what is behind certain technologies.β
Sandra really enjoyed the hands-on approach of the workshop being able to learn by completing coding work along the way, specifically in regards to the final project and in completing homework with other students. She also loved the atmosphere and learning with other like-minded women.Β
βMy favorite part of the SheCodes workshop was learning by doing, especially with the final project and conducting homework together with other participants. Learning with other women was a lot of fun, I can highly recommend this format! SheCodes is a great initiative!β
π How SheCodes has Helped to Change Her Life
After completing the SheCodes beginner workshop, Sandra felt more comfortable in understanding different development languages and popular coding technologies.Β
βAlthough, I have only completed the beginner workshop, I am comfortable in understanding which programming languages are used in which scenarios and which programs support coding (e.g. Github).β
She recently got a promotion to a Specialist for Modern Work at Microsoft. This position is a bit more technical than her previous role. In this role, she is in charge of driving customer intent and demonstrating solution value with envisioning workshops, demonstrating economic value of their M365 solutions, identifying customer business and technology challenges and bringing them to agreement on the business value of modern work solutions, and searching for new Modern Work opportunities. The latter is done by identifying and engaging with key business and technical contacts, understanding customersβ business and technology priorities, governance, decision and budget processes, and landing the value proposition of the M365 platform.
The knowledge she gained in SheCodes is helping her with her current role as a Microsoft Specialist, specifically with a low code application theyβve recently launched called the Microsoft Power Platform. Her coding knowledge is also helping her improve her conversations with developers and understanding of their work.Β
βWe have a low code application at Microsoft where I can leverage the exact skills I learned in SheCodes, being empowered by low code skills to develop applications together with my teammates for our customers.β
βI do not expect myself to become a coder, but I am having lots of conversations with tech people either at Microsoft or with the IT departments of my customers. Understanding coding and the technology behind things helps me a lot when having these conversations.β
π©βπΌ Advice to Future SheCodes Student
Sandra thinks that coding knowledge is a must for those who wish to work in the tech industry. She thinks that SheCodes workshops will give you a good foundation in the basics of Front End Development and will equip you to complete your own projects.Β
βSheCodes is a great opportunity for every woman who wants to land a career in the tech industry. I really liked the beginner workshop, which teaches you all the basics needed to start front-end coding in different languages. Equipped with this knowledge I really enjoyed creating my own project. Definitively sign up for SheCodes!βΒ
