Meet Boglarka Egyed, also known as “Bogi” to her colleagues.
She’s a 5-year Clouderan who recently transitioned into the role of Engineering Manager.
Bogi originally graduated from college with her degree in Applied Mathematics but has spent her career as a Software Engineer. “Mathematics provided me with solid fundamentals to use in this field but programming was what really caught my attention due to its creative nature while being able to get results fast.”
Bogi was lucky enough to attend a college where the gender ratio was very balanced. There were as many women learning Applied Mathematics as there were men but as she entered her career that story changed.
Her first role was at a tech company in the automotive industry. There, she was the only female on her team which was strange to her, at first. “There are some things that might change the dynamics of teams if one sex is highly underrepresented there.” As an example, she described that in male-dominated teams, the jokes shared might be a little different than they would be if more women were present. She also shared that the attention given can often be skewed. “Some people can give too much attention to a woman or sometimes tell her how nice she looks that day. It can be weird because you are the only one getting this type of attention. It can sometimes make you feel very different or a bit uncomfortable even though these examples are not necessarily signs of negative discrimination.”
When asked her thoughts on why this industry has been so male-dominated, she feels a lot is attributed to pop culture influencing our mindset. “When I was young, tech companies in movies, books, and stories were usually presented as a male-dominated place. I don’t think these impressions encourage most women to try to be part of this world.”
Fortunately, Bogi has always had great teammates who value her contribution allowing her to grow in her career as a Software Developer.
Today, Bogi is an Engineering Manager here at Cloudera and spends much of her time planning her team’s work, balancing between priorities, hiring, and most importantly being there for her team itself ensuring they not only are performing well but are feeling good too. “Coding became less of a responsibility, my focus is absolutely on prioritizing our tasks and our cooperation with the stakeholders. If it sounds like I have a lot of meetings now, it’s right!”
Becoming a leader in Engineering wasn’t always her main goal. The idea was born at Cloudera and came as a result of working with a great team full of experienced individuals. “I have had several official and unofficial mentors throughout the years with seasoned technical and/or leadership experience who I could learn from a lot.” It not only impacted her career but her future goals as well.
Heading new challenges in her management role was something she expected but she hadn’t realized the effect Covid-19 would have on those challenges. “Remotely working means that a lead has to put extra effort to keep a team together, sensing the mood, sensing if something or somebody is not okay.” It’s a challenge she knows even the most experienced leaders are facing but one she is facing with grace and a commitment to her team. “We have a team lunch every week via a Zoom meeting where people can join bringing their lunches and any casual topics they would like to chat about. It’s a great socializing event.” She’s also had online game nights to allow the team to engage and have fun. She feels that good leaders are honest, authentic and maintain a good sense of humor and a good leader is what she aims to be.
She left us with some parting advice for anyone wanting to join this field, especially the women. “Build relations in the field you are interested in and learn. Connect with others who share your same passion, you can give each other motivation as well as help to find opportunities.” She also added the always worthwhile note to “never give up”.
Interested in working alongside Bogi and the many other inspiring Clouderans? Be sure to check out our open positions!
Editor's Choice
Way to go, Bogi!