P2P Series: Julia Swidron from Powerpoint to React

They hired her as a PowerPoint designer. But soon she found out coding requirements was much better than transcribing them.

Refactoring is the name of the game for Julia Swidron (LinkedIn, Portfolio). She rewrites legacy frontend experiences at Deloitte, one of the biggest consultancies in the world.

She didn't have a linear path. She started in graphic design but soon realized that she would burn out as a profession. She was exploring her options in different cities when she got an internship at Maersk, which was a perfect launchpad.

In our chat, we talk about moving around, making engineering choices as an extrovert, and writing code without calling herself a developer.

This episode is packed with insights about:

• (00:07:07) What is it like as a software consultant at Deloitte?
• (00:16:37) What gets you excited about refactoring legacy code?
• (00:20:15) What does socialized engineering look like?
• (00:27:40) Python was my first attempt at coding, and it didn't stick
• (00:32:15) Homework was not enough to get the job (some self-teaching required)
• (00:42:20) The magic of translating ideas between technical to non-technical
• (00:46:52) She sent 250 job applications to find Deloitte
• (00:51:07) What makes a good manager?
• (01:02:26) Julia is explicit with journaling and organizing
• (01:05:20) Notetaking can become brainstorming

Mentions:

• Styled Components
• Tailwind
• Bun
• Deno

Check blog.introspectivedeveloper.com for transcripts and show notes.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, or your favorite platform.

Zeke Arany-Lucas is a principal engineer, coach, and consultant from Seattle, living and working in Berlin since 2014. He has been in the tech industry for over 25 years, starting with web browser development in the 90s, including long stints at Microsoft and Amazon in multiple leadership roles. You can also follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Artwork by Emre Aydogan & Laura Diezler — ©️2022 Zeke Arany-Lucas