Episode 310 | Sonia Gupta - Figuring It Out

Guest:

Sonia Gupta

@soniagupta504

Sonia Gupta talks with Dave Rael about moving from law into software development, gaining self-awareness, and the powerful draw and potential for good of technologists

Sonia Gupta is currently a software developer at Ibotta, Inc. in Denver, CO. Prior to becoming a developer, Sonia was a lawyer in Louisiana. She served as a Public Defender in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, then as a Prosecutor, and finally as an Assistant Attorney General doing torts and Civil Rights litigation. Before initiating her career change, Sonia had no experience in programming and software development. She attended the Turing School of Software and Design where she learned best practices through a curriculum focused on Ruby and Rails development. Sonia is an outspoken advocate of diversity and inclusion in tech and in life. She is passionate about fostering empathetic and effective communication on engineering teams, and believes that even if tech can’t always change the world, technologists absolutely can.

Chapters: 1:18 - Dave introduces the show and Sonia Gupta4:22 - The appeal to Sonia of software development and the humility of many software developers8:21 - Sonia's early exposure to computer science9:42 - Sonia's path to Turing School of Software & Design11:04 - Sonia's experience at Turing School and connecting with professionals as a path to employment13:17 - The things that "light Sonia up"14:16 - Applicability to software of the skills and traits useful to lawyers16:46 - Sonia's bold career change, the rewards of making it, and support from her family19:17 - Software development as cooperative vs competitive22:09 - Sonia's story of failure - struggling with early Turing School curriculum, comparing herself to others having an easier time, and the importance and value of persistence26:35 - Sonia's success story - completion of the Turing School program and entry in the profession of software development, the culmination of a journey of authentic self-discovery29:20 - How Sonia stays current with what she needs to know31:13 - Sonia's book recommendations33:11 - The things that have Sonia most excited34:03 - The things about which Sonia likes to geek out35:01 - Sonia's top 3 tips for delivering more value38:12 - Advice for tapping into empathy

Resources: Sonia on Medium Kathleen Dollard on Developer On Fire Turing School of Software & Design Jeff Casimir on Developer On Fire Ted Neward on Developer On Fire Louisiana Bar Journal Sandi Metz on Developer On Fire

Sonia's book recommendation: Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby: An Agile Primer (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby) - Sandi Metz The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin

Sonia's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Learn to communicate effectively, particularly by making use of precise language, psychological safety, and empathy Learn to craft a code narrative Take time to take care of yourself