Early years and where you came from?
I was born and lived in Lisbon until I was 5 years old, then I moved to my father’s hometown, Fátima, where I stayed until the age of 18. I return to Lisbon to study Biomedical Engineering and Biophysics master's degree.
How were you introduced to the world of the Portuguese tech industry?
When I started working at AskBlue.
Walk me through your work and what you are doing now in the tech industry.
I am, currently, a team leader, responsible for the development of Outsystems technology projects. I lead an end-to-end development project, from scratch, starting with the business and requirements analysis, the design of the technical solution and its architecture and then the development itself.
What part of what you do, you love the most?
I love the fact that every day is a different day in my job and every new project is different from the previous one. Plus, I have the opportunity to get to know different business areas and work with different clients.
How do you think that your background and knowledge impact the way you approach your work in the Portuguese tech industry?
My background is not Informatics and I am in a different area from the one I studied for. However, the way we are taught to think, to analyze problems and to project solutions helps me in my everyday job.
What advice do you have for young women that want to get into tech and don’t know where to start?
I believe training and work are the keys to success. So, if you are certain about what course/area/technology you would like to join, go for it. If you’re not, join a general technology program that will provide you the tools you need to follow any path in the tech world, at the same time, you will discover the areas you like most.
Walk me through a day in your life as a Portuguese women in tech.
My workday has changed since I am now working at home because of the pandemic. However, I start my day checking my mailbox and planning the entire day. After that, I have a daily meeting with all team members of the project. I usually have other meetings with the client or my team during the day. When I am free of meetings, I lead the team and help them finding solutions and solving problems they are facing, analyze and solve other problems and issues, estimate and plan the next developments and, sometimes, I develop too. Before the pandemic, I was doing the same kind of work at the client's workspace.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Work hard to be the best you can and don’t give up. You must keep walking to reach your destination.
What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?
OutSystems, Microsoft Teams, Outlook.
Any links that you want to share? In what are you working on…
I am now working on a very special project that helps people to continue their academic training by funding the course or program suitable for them to join (Income Share Agreement). Check out more at joseneves.org and if you are interested to apply, here is the link.
👉Find Mariana on LinkedIn
