Darina Hristova
Data Engineer
Friday, 29 July 2022
Could you please introduce yourself?
Hi! I am Darina, I am Bulgarian, currently leaving in Berlin. I am a Senior Data Engineer and currently interim Engineering Manager of a team of six engineers at Scout24.
Whats your background?
I have a business education and I have been working as a Data Engineer for five years now.
Whats your current role?
Engineering Manager
Why have you decided to learn to code?
Informatics was my favourite subject at high school. I loved a challenge and even though I specialised in mathematics, coding was really my passion since I was a kid. I started coding back in the days in C++ and C# and grew to learn more language and implementations of data problems in real life through the years.
Do you think its important to learn to code?
I believe people should follow their passions and if coding is fun for you - definitely!
Do you feel the tech industry is male dominated? How can we encourage more women into the industry?
Since I started my career, my company has aways been a great place for women to work in. I was part of female-only data engineers team and in all other teams I have worked the quota of women and man has been balanced. I have felt great support form my managers and the initiatives that our company has to support women in tech. I believe that this kind of change should be people-driven.
Did you struggle being a woman in the tech industry yourself?
Not really. I always had support from my managers and my colleagues male and female. I have never felt that my work has been judged on the basis of my gender. In fact, I feel very much valued and satisfied with my job.
Whats the most rewarding and most challenging parts of your tech career so far?
Most rewarding part I would say was getting the change to mentor other colleagues and pass on the knowledge I have gained. Most challenging part was to learn to leave something for tomorrow.