Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey, to date.
My career journey began five years ago, when I decided to make a career change and step away from my life as a qualified lawyer to pursue a career in tech. Technology had always been my second passion, and even while working as a lawyer, I had the opportunity to actively participate in numerous projects involving the development of applications, accounts, and websites designed to help legal professionals in their everyday work. Those experiences gave me an insight into the tech world and gradually strengthened my interest in exploring it as a career.
I started my career transition by enrolling in an IT Bootcamp course focused on WordPress development. From the very beginning, I loved the experience. It brought a sense of freshness and dynamism that I had been missing for a long time. I also enjoyed the creative aspect and the freedom that came with building WordPress websites — something I had not experienced in my previous profession.
The GoDaddy WordPress Premium Support team was an important part of my career transition. The developers who were also instructors generously shared their knowledge and experience with us and helped open the door to a completely new career path.
GoDaddy was also the company that gave me my first opportunity in the tech industry. I joined as a WordPress Advanced Support Chat Guide, where I spent my first year at GoDaddy. That role opened the door to my new profession and gave me the opportunity to continue developing my technical skills.
After a year, I moved into a WordPress Developer position within the WordPress Premium Support team. Becoming a WordPress Developer had been the goal I had set for myself from the very beginning, so reaching that milestone was especially meaningful to me. I continue to grow technically and build my career within this team.
What were the first steps you took to start learning technical skills, and how did you stay committed during the early stages?
My first real steps in developing my technical skills happened in my role as a WPAS Chat Guide. Every day, I communicated with GoDaddy customers and helped them resolve technical issues related to WordPress websites, hosting, and domains.
The beginning was very intense, but equally exciting, because every day brought a new experience and a new challenge to overcome. I was constantly learning something new, meeting new people, and encountering new problems that required me to think and find solutions.
That constant variety gave me the motivation and desire to keep learning every day. Since working in a chat position requires you to react quickly and solve problems within a short period of time, I often spent time after work expanding my knowledge about the questions and issues I had encountered during the day. My goal was to be more knowledgeable, more capable, and faster at finding solutions for customers the following day.
My previous profession and work experience also became valuable assets. As a lawyer, I had developed strong communication skills, and I found it relatively easy to build a connection with customers. I was able to use those skills to de-escalate many challenging situations and earn customers' trust in the process needed to resolve their questions or problems.
All of this significantly helped me when I moved into my WordPress Developer role within the WordPress Premium Support team. This position allowed me to dedicate even more attention to customers and dive deeper into many technical questions and problems that I could not fully explore in a chat-based role.
How did the culture within your team help you feel confident as you grew?
When I moved into the WordPress Developer role, I received tremendous support from my team and more experienced colleagues. Whenever I encountered something I did not understand or had a question, I knew I could reach out to someone for help.
The team’s support gave me the encouragement I needed to feel comfortable in my new role and grow more confident in handling my everyday responsibilities.
I will soon have been part of this team for three years, and I can honestly say that this support has never been missing — whether it comes from my colleagues or my managers.
Being a WordPress Developer means that there is always something new to learn and that learning never really stops. WordPress is a huge ecosystem that is constantly being improved, developed, and expanded. Because of that, having a team that is willing to share knowledge, answer questions, and support your growth makes a huge difference. It has helped me feel confident while continuing to learn and develop both technically and professionally.
How does experimentation play a role in your development work?
As a WordPress Developer, my work requires a lot of attention to detail, analysis, testing, and experimentation in order to achieve the desired result and meet customer expectations.
Experimentation plays a particularly important role when dealing with more advanced technical problems. Without experimenting and testing different approaches, it can be difficult to know whether a recommended solution will actually be effective.
Sometimes, experimentation also gives me the opportunity to identify several possible scenarios or solutions that I can present to the customer. This can be particularly valuable because it gives the customer a choice and allows them to select the solution that best fits their business and their goals.
That is one of the things that makes this position so interesting and rewarding. At the end of the day, there is a great sense of satisfaction in knowing that you have helped someone find the solution they needed so they can continue developing and growing their business.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career change into tech?
My advice to anyone considering a career change and thinking about moving into the tech industry would be: give it a try. If you have the desire to learn and, somewhere along the way, you discover that you also develop a passion for your new profession, then you have very little to lose and a lot to gain.
It is absolutely never too late to change your career and do something that makes you feel better and that you genuinely enjoy.
The tech industry offers such a wide range of different career paths that I believe many people who have the motivation and willingness to learn can find something that suits their personality, preferences, and existing skills. You do not necessarily have to start from zero either — many of the skills and experiences you have gained in your previous career can become valuable in a completely new field.
What's your motto or personal mantra?
My personal motto is: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
I adopted this line from Invictus, the poem written by English poet William Ernest Henley. This sentence completely describes my personality and character, and it has always guided me through life and the decisions I make, both professionally and personally.
External circumstances, fears, and hardships can never break the strength of our will and desire. We may not always be able to control what happens around us, but we can choose how we respond to it and how we shape our own path. That is something I try to carry with me in every part of my life — including my career journey.
Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.
