What's your job about?
My role at PEXA is to develop software. Every two weeks I take part in a sprint with the team where we plan what we will be doing for the next week. I normally pick tasks that I am interested in such as adding a new feature like a new page to a website, or fixing bugs.
Each morning, we have a stand-up meeting where everyone takes the time to talk about what they did yesterday, what we will be working on today and if there are any blockers. During the day, I will either join meetings or just code There is a lot of team work involved as a developer, so I need work very closely with other developers in the team. Sometimes when I get stuck on a task, I will take time to research or watch online tutorials in order to solve it. Once I have completed a task, we will have a code review. Then I will pass the task to our QA who will then test it.
To summarise, a typical day for me would be meetings, coding and learning.
What's your background?
I grew up in China before moving to Australia as an international student. I told my mum that I wanted to study IT, she rejected that idea because she thought IT was not the right career choice for a girl and encouraged me to be an accountant. Once I finished my study, I received my Permanent Residency and found an accounting job. I hated it so much and realised it just wasn’t for me so I decided to go back to university to study IT. It was so much harder than accounting but so much more fun. I did an industry-based learning program at Monash, and I received an offer when the program finished s which allowed me to work part-time as a developer while I was studying. Towards the end of my study, I was offered a full-time position, however, I knew that I needed a better platform and better mentors. That’s why I applied for the PEXA graduate program. Now I’m on my second rotation and I have been working at PEXA for 10 months.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes. I had an accounting background before I changed to IT and I had to train myself through studying to be able to do my job. I think if someone is interested in technology and is willing to learn, they can be a software engineer.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
This job is very satisfying when you get things working. I enjoy being a problem solver. Because this job requires continuous learning, it can keep me entertained and I don't get bored easily. Our company provides every employee 1000 dollars for Learning and Development. I can use the money to buy online courses and books, or even use it on AWS certificate exams. I love the company’s flexible working model, it allows me to work from home and still be able to socialise in the office.
What are the limitations of your job?
Because PEXA exists within a highly regulated industry, we must minimise the risk. Sometimes my work has dependencies on other teams which could result in long waiting time or lots of meetings.
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