Laura Mahoney

When did you start working for Radancy?

November 2014, as a freelancer and then April 2015, as a full-time employee.

With the tech industry being a male-dominated field how did you get your start in the field?

I started out as a graphic designer but I was able to attend an innovative job-training program called Code Louisville.

Did you have an “aha” moment while in Code Louisville?

I had several “aha” moments where everything came together. I was self-taught before Code Louisville and never fully understood why certain concepts work they way they do. My mentor and the Code Louisville curriculum helped me fill in the holes and made me a stronger developer in a short amount of time.

As this is a historically male-dominated field, what would you say to encourage other women to consider a career in web development?

My advice to women who are considering a career in web development would be to take the fact that it is a historically male-dominated field off the table. I believe that if coding is your passion and you want to be challenged and enjoy what you do, any historic gender bias won’t matter to you. Most of my coworkers are male, and they have never made me feel like I wasn’t equally as capable of doing a good job.

What is the career trajectory for a web developer?

Web development is such a broad field with many opportunities as technology evolves. I will continue to polish my front-end skills, especially in the area of Javascript. I also have an interest in learning more back-end programming, so I could see myself pursuing that further within the next few years. I enjoy being challenged and know that the constantly changing nature of web development will accommodate that desire as my career progresses.

What personality traits do great developers share?

I believe great developers love to learn new concepts and are open to changing their workflow as the industry expands. It doesn’t hurt to be a little “OCD” about tiny details, because in web development, the little details matter.

What advice would you give to new employees at Radancy?

Ask a lot of questions and always be curious! Find a mentor within your department and learn all that you can from them.