VSCO Inclusion & Diversity

Describe your experience as a woman in engineering. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced, and how have you overcome them?

As a woman in engineering, imposter syndrome has definitely plagued me, but I’ve learned that that’s true for so many! Simply persevering and gaining more experience has boosted my confidence in my abilities and my value, and I think that’s totally normal. Accepting praise has often been difficult for me, but I’ve realized how important it is to celebrate my wins and re-write my own narrative to chip away at my limiting beliefs. The less I worry about “whether I belong here,” the more I can focus on my growth, be more forgiving of my missteps and have room to help others in their journeys.

Women face a unique challenge due to the “role model effect.” With women being less represented in technical roles, many women in tech haven’t seen role models in leadership positions or even similar roles to themselves. This can exacerbate the feelings of not belonging and can make it more difficult to confidently visualize growth journeys for themselves. Seeking out friendships and mentorship from other women in tech has been helpful to me, even though it can be more work. Hopefully, as more women in engineering develop in our careers, we can continue to lift others up alongside us.

What are your professional goals, and how has VSCO enabled you to pursue them? What career growth resources/opportunities are available?

Discovering my professional goals has been a journey that I’m sure will continue to evolve. Of course, developing and deepening my technical expertise and helping others do the same has been core to me. I love collaborating and sharing, and I think the tech industry is a stronghold for that, with things such as open source leading the way. At VSCO, we have a deeply engrained culture of sharing, with organizations such as engineering guilds for different technical areas, and regular engineering all-hands meetings, where anyone is encouraged to share technical deep dives on topics of their interest.

Luckily for me, my technical career has often coincided with my personal interests, and I’ve been able to bring a lot of myself to the job. Photography and photo editing is a passion of mine outside of work, and I’m happy that I can blend my personal passion with what I get to work on at VSCO! I’ve also had the opportunity to attend conferences, both in person and virtually, related to the field of graphics as well as to front-end technologies, which are the specific technical areas I work in.

What advice do you have for women in engineering or other technical roles regarding how to identify a company and team that will support their growth and development?

I think that is a challenge we all face! Even though it has become a cliché, don’t forget when looking for a new role, you are interviewing them. Finding a place that will support you will involve support from both the overall company as well as the specific team and manager. Questions that I’ve asked prospective employers include: “How will I know what is expected of me, and how will I know whether I am meeting the expectations of my role?” For a company invested in developing their people, this should be a softball. Companies with clear growth guides are likely to be transparent in how they assess employees and more ready to hold conversations about growth. 

At VSCO, our growth guides are a huge part of development across the company. Other questions you can ask are: “How does delivering praise and critical feedback work here?” and “If an employee has a developmental goal like [Y], what would be the path to achieve that at this company?” Asking questions will help you learn about both the manager’s and the company’s views on growth. Be truthful with yourself in what you hear. If the company and team don’t have practices to support your growth, consider finding somewhere that does!