Women in coding: Jasmin Tsai
Jasmin Tsai is a Technical Lead at Pixl8 Group - developer of ReadyMembership. She leads a team of developers, solving problems and building solutions that benefit all clients. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “inspire inclusion” and Jasmin helps to do that in her role.
We spoke with Jasmin about her diverse career, the skills that women bring to software development and her advice for anyone thinking of working in the industry.
Hi Jasmin, have you always worked in web development?
No! I used to be a flight attendant and got into risk management in actuarial science. During my few years working in an insurance company, I got the chance to work closely with external developers on upgrading the company’s IT system. My involvement with technical issues got me interested and made me want to learn more about programming and website development. I never thought of doing coding before - I had that stereotypical image that it was mainly for men - which just isn’t true!
What did you do to get the skills you needed?
I taught myself basic Python and PHP (coding language) and found it hard at first. After meeting coding bloggers online I decided to join an in-person full-time coding boot camp that taught Ruby on Rails. There were up to 20 students in my class and only three were women.
The course wasn’t easy at first and some challenges in coding involve structural solving. The mathematical logical thinking from my past experiences helped enhance my problem-solving skills and make data-driven decisions. The first job that I got after graduating from the course was with Pixl8 - that was seven years ago.
Tell us about your role at Pixl8 Group - what does it involve?
My big focus is working closely with our Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and Consultants to review clients’ needs and identify the best solutions to meet their requirements. I also help junior developers increase their technical ability and knowledge of clients.
I’m still involved with hands-on coding, but we don’t use Ruby on Rails. Most types of coding share similar concepts so this isn’t a big problem. The biggest challenge when I joined Pixl8 was quickly getting up to speed with company guidelines and coding standards.
Is there a male/female divide working in coding?
There isn’t at Pixl8! Everyone is very supportive of each other. The dev team is very strong at supporting each other by sharing knowledge and working together to solve problems for clients. Our platform is at the heart of what we do - contributing to improvements or working on new features is exciting and gives us a clear direction. Using programming languages to solve problems is what keeps me interested.
How do you think businesses benefit from having women in development?
I think women bring strong attention to detail and have different perspectives when looking at client requirements. This can benefit the business as they can spot and help solve problems that others can’t see.
What is your advice to anyone who is thinking of starting a career in web or software development?
My advice for women would be if you’re concerned about the stereotype that it’s only for men - don’t be intimidated. For anyone, go for what you want to do and persist with it. Don’t give up and don’t be afraid to try something new.
Follow our blog for more interviews with experts across our team, coming soon.