Meet Deja Baker (DB). Deja has our briefcase bag that she uses for work as an automation and support engineer and for her weekend travels. We asked Deja to share more about her career in tech and future plans.
Kathleen Murphy (KM): Can you tell us about your current job?
DB: Currently I am an Automation and Support Engineer at DRW. The software that I help create and maintain supports other teams in the firm. I also work on apps for HR and facilities to make life better at DRW.
KM: When did you become interested in computers and how did it influence your current career path?
DB: I have been interested in tech ever since I was a child. When I would play video games on the computer, I always had a curiosity about how those things worked. This resonated with me and when it came time to choose a major in college I gravitated towards computer science.
One summer I went to the University of Michigan to take classes during high school. My first choice was biology. When I ended up not getting that, I was offered a class in robotics instead. That was the first time I programmed in Ruby and that was my introduction to programming. That class went really well, and I knew from that point on that is was something that I wanted to do.
KM: What do you think are the most important skills in your profession?
DB: Being able to teach yourself and good problem solving skills.
KM: What projects are you working on now?
DB: Right now I am working on an app that will be used for my company’s giving challenge. It is a yearly event where offices are able to donate to non profit organizations and help the community. The website displays live data of the donations for each team across all of the DRW offices.
KM: What is the best part of your job?
DB: The best part of my job is running a demo of a project I have been working on for awhile. It is amazing to see the client’s reaction and how excited they are to use it.
KM: What are the challenges?
DB: One of the biggest challenges is dealing with imposter syndrome, which is a big thing in the tech community.
KM: What advice would you give to other people who are interested in a similar career?
DB: Today there are plenty of resources that are free online for anyone that is interested in learning to code. I would try out a course online in the specific topic that I am interested in to see if it is really for me.
KM: What do you hope to achieve?
DB: One day I hope to create my own application and service that will help others in a significant and major way.
KM: Thank you Deja!
