Intuit is hiring on POCIT. Matthew “Matt” Castilla is a senior software quality assurance (QA) engineer at Intuit Mailchimp. Although he has had an unconventional entrance into the world of tech, Matt has carved his unique path to success. In this interview, Matt tells us how he went from an accomplished musician to a thriving career in tech. Tell me about your career trajectory and your journey to Mailchimp. I grew up in a musical household—both of my parents were musicians. They were also professors at historically Black colleges and
Maybe you’re new to the software engineer job hunt. Maybe you’ve been in the industry for some time and are trying to keep your interview skills fresh via the concept of “Always Be Interviewing”. You’ve optimized your resume for software engineers. You’ve cleared the technical interviews. But now it’s time to increase your compensation in the offer stage. Studies like this one from Harvard Law School on negotiation biases have shown that, in many instances, Black candidates were given fewer concessions when negotiating. Does this mean you should just give
Meet Jeremiah Thoronka, the young inventor, entrepreneur, and scholar from Sierra Leone, behind the device that turns the vibrations from busy roads into electricity. Thoronka, who recently graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Sustainability, Energy, and Development from Durham University, founded Optim Energy in 2017, when he was just 17 years old. People are always moving “I have first-hand experience of growing up without energy or electricity,” Thoronka said in an innterview wth the BBC. “Around 18:00, the entire neighbourhood would be in darkness.” Thoronka grew up in
This article was first published by Branden Lawrence on Medium. Week after week, we’ve heard that X company will be going through a round of layoffs. In fact, according to layoffs.fyi, 128,202 tech employees were laid off in 2023 alone when this article was published. For comparison, in all of 2022, 161,411 tech employees were laid off. This has left many looking for a new job, others uncertain about their software engineering future, and prospective junior engineers unsure how to get their foot in the door at any company. So how can engineers find their feet at
Wisdom is an audio-first social discovery app fostering deeper connections and lasting friendships between like-minded users. Founded by British computer science graduate Dayo Akinrinade, Wisdom leverages advanced AI with the power of social audio to make the world a little wiser. “Wisdom offers women a safe space to converse about topics that matter to them, such as women’s rights, domestic violence, leadership, and wellness,” Akinrinade told Apple. “Our users who don’t identify as women consider themselves allies, and provide support by participating in the conversations or simply listening.” On Wisdom, users
Software engineering is the best job in the US, according to the US News & World Report’s list of the 100 best jobs. But with layoff announcements showing little sign of slowing – it can be hard for those working in the industry to know where they stand. Hired’s annual report on the state of software engineers in the tech industry aims to cut through the noise and reveal the facts about the job market for software engineers. “It’s been a challenging time for the tech industry,” writes Hired CEO Josh Brenner. “Despite
This article was first published by Jawara Gordon on Medium. “Congratulations to the Trailblazers!” she said as we received our certificates. Standing in a room full of supporters my cohort and I celebrated a tremendous victory. We completed a grueling, six-month-long, software engineering bootcamp which tested us in every way imaginable. We were the survivors, the lucky ones who made it to the finish line. As the lights faded and we said our goodbyes, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen next. Having gone from almost zero coding experience
This article was first published by Jason Yip on Medium. On 29 Nov 2022, I learned I was being laid off by Spotify, official termination date 31 Dec 2022. This is a rough summary of my job search experience. I started looking the moment I got the same day “urgent” calendar invite on 29 Nov and had set my LinkedIn status to “Open to Work” on 30 Nov. At least 35 positions contacted me first. 25 led to at least an initial chat. The remaining 10 went nowhere after initial contact.
This article was first published by Priyanka Jain on Medium. What a weight off my shoulders!! I opened my to-do list and scratched off all the items tagged work. After 20+ years in the tech industry, I experienced a first last week. I was unceremoniously let go from my position as Director of Engineering on a Zoom call that lasted 5 minutes at the end of my workday. I’ve witnessed and been indirectly affected by tech layoffs before. As we weather this latest round of shake-ups in the tech industry, I
This article was first published by Jennifer Opal on her blog. Let me introduce myself… My name is Jennifer Opal, I’m a DevOps Engineer currently working for Dropbox Sign. Outside of my day-to-day, I’m a Multi-Award Winning Technologist, Technical Blogger, Keynote Speaker & Neurodiversity & Inclusion Advocate. On top of this, I also sit on the Co-Production Board of a UK-based charity called, ‘Neurodiversity in Business’. You can learn more about me, my work outside of my full time job as a DevOps Engineer & more by checking out my
