Meet Hetali Shah, Technical Support Engineer at Progress

We’d like to introduce you to some of the people from around the world who make us who we are. In this post, meet Hetali Shah, technical support engineer.

A fearless member of the Progress team, Hetali moved from India to the U.S. for her career. At Progress, she supports customers with all of their Kendo UI needs. Read a bit about her personal and professional journey below.

When did you join Progress and why did you decide to work here?

I joined in December of 2018 and I decided to take the job here because I was looking for an opportunity where I could use Angular and JavaScript skills. With my current role, I am able to focus on frontend, but I can also increase my knowledge of backend. It’s been fun, and it’s exactly how I want to get started in my career. Who I was a year ago compared to who I am now, I can see a difference: I’m much more confident than I was before.

That’s great to hear. So what does a typical workday look like for you?

I’m on the customer support team for Kendo UI so I answer customer questions on Kendo UI for jQuery or Angular. We provide phone assistance and ticket system, so the customer either calls in or opens a ticket. Few tickets can take a full day. It’s been cool learning new things with every customer question, and I learn a lot from our team in Bulgaria. Our Kendo UI Angular team is based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and I’m one of the only ones with Angular skills in the United States, so my knowledge of Angular is continually growing with each ticket that comes in. I’ve realized that even when I become a top-tier engineer, I will still be learning. There’s something new coming in the tech world every day.

When did you move here from India, and how was the transition for you?

I got my bachelor of engineering degree in information technology at the University of Mumbai in India. I moved to the United States in August 2016 after I enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Lowell for my master’s in computer science. I got my degree in May 2018. I decided to move here to experience the culture, education system, people, etc. and so far it’s been good.

As far as the transition, I was homesick at first, but now it’s fine. I visit my parents every year in Mumbai, and I have good friends in the States.

You have achieved a lot in a short amount of time. Now that you’re starting your career, do you find that Progress supports you in your professional growth?

Absolutely. I want to become a manager, and I feel like I have the support I need to get there. I really look up to my manager, Petya Sotirova. She is very young, but she’s already a senior manager and she works really hard, makes time for us. She’s just amazing at managing everything.

I like working here. I am where I’m supposed to be, and I’m on the right path, I feel.

That’s awesome. So what has it been like so far being a woman in tech?

You know, I’m lucky that my education and my career has been very gender-balanced. In undergrad there were a lot of girls in my class, and for my master’s the number of women dropped off a bit, but still, it was pretty much gender-balanced. And now I have a woman as my boss who’s leading a whole team. I like how bigger companies are focused on hiring more women in tech positions, but it’s definitely different in smaller companies.

What advice would you give to a high school girl interested in pursuing a career in STEM?

Focus on one thing and become a pro at that. Because I picked up everything while getting my bachelor’s, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to focus on in my career. Instead of getting jumbled with all the types of technologies out there, focus on one thing and become the best at that.

When you’re not working with all things tech, what do you enjoy doing?

I love working out and being active. You can find me playing tennis or swimming on some days. On the exact opposite end of that, I love binge-watching TV and cooking. I like to create healthy versions of food and desserts.

To get to know other Progressers like Hetali, read more of our Progress employee interviews here.

Learn about Progress for Tomorrow