Every year, I look forward to March – and not just because it’s my birthday month. A lot of Rusticians are working remotely these days, so we don’t often see each other in real life. I’m always excited to check in with our women working in tech for Women’s History Month to hear what they’ve accomplished and how they’re inspiring the next generation.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
What’s your favorite thing about your role?
“Being a detective—finding those little issues that aren’t working as expected. It feels great to solve the mystery and help others work with fewer bugs.”
– Lara Abdurazak, Quality Assurance Engineer“I am in an enviable position where failure is celebrated and a complaint is welcome. Finding flaws is what I naturally do best, but that otherwise annoying trait is reclaimed for peaceful use by the smart people I work with. So the flaws I find get fixed, and the world is a bit better, one squished bug at a time. And my family members suffer a bit less from my superpower :D”
– Natalia Bearden, Quality Assurance Engineer“I get to be both analytical and creative. It can take a lot of critical thinking and analysis to understand user needs and pain points and design a solution that balances those with business needs and technical feasibility. But creativity is also essential to brainstorming solutions, designing an effective and elegant user interface and creating and maintaining a product brand.”
– Rebecca Favorito, UI/UX Designer“I love that we get to see things from start to finish. Even as individual contributors, we’re at the table for design discussions, and our opinions are truly wanted and valued. We see features from their design all the way through regression testing and roll out. It’s exciting hearing positive feedback from customers about something you built!”
– Bridget Johnson, Senior Software Developer“That “Ta-Da!” moment when the solution is found or presented for a given issue. Whether it’s releasing a product feature that helps customers, helping a developer understand a technical specification or figuring out why a piece of code won’t compile; presenting a helpful solution is what makes my job feel worthwhile.”
– Dottie Lindsey, Team Lead Content Controller“That no day is ever the same 🙂 I work with so many different teams, which means I learn a lot.”
– Tammy Rutherford, Managing Director
What advice would you give you women wanting to work as developers or in tech?
“Ask for experience. Ask for internships, a seat at a hackathon, advice on a project, a place on a team, online communities you can join, etc. Anywhere that you can learn from others or start a career. This field can feel isolating to women, but I promise you that there is support out there for your career goals.”
– Dottie“Come on in! When I joined Rustici 14 years ago, I had very little tech experience and knew that it would be a steep learning curve. Thankfully, the team here was patient and had many great teachers, which helped me get more comfortable in this industry. So, don’t be afraid to jump in with an open mind and a ton of curiosity.”
– Tammy“Don’t let anyone make you feel like you don’t belong. Find your allies and build your support network both within and outside where you work. Tech can be a fantastic place to work, but some companies still need to work on evolving their culture when it comes to gender, so do your research when interviewing for roles. Check the gender balance not just across the company, but on specific teams and in leadership, and ask targeted, probing questions during the interview process.”
– Rebecca“Keep learning – Tech is like a rollercoaster: always going up, down and around. You’ve got to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, which means staying on top of trends, tools, and new ideas. Surround yourself with people smarter than you – This is key! Find those who challenge you, ask the tough questions and point out things you didn’t notice. You’ll grow faster and avoid falling into those little traps that are easy to miss when you’re in the weeds.”
– Lara“You belong there. You’re smart, you’re capable, and you didn’t end up here by accident. And if you only meet 50% of the qualifications, apply anyway, everyone else is!”
– Bridget
What career moment are you most proud of?
“When I spotted a tiny mistake/bug that seemed minor at first but would’ve caused huge headaches down the road. I’m talking, “we’re going to need a whole task force to fix this later” kind of headaches.”
– Lara“Not long after I started, I took on a customer request that required big changes across multiple products. It was such an adventure to tackle and threw me straight in the deep-end of Rustici. But everyone was so kind in offering advice and guidance. The finished feature rolled out with positive feedback from the customer!”
– Bridget“Making the cut to be on the Team Rustici. Feeling like a member of an elite private club :)”
Natalia
What’s your favorite thing about working at Rustici?
“If I were rich, I’d work here for free. I am fulfilled and validated, surrounded by people I truly enjoy and am comfortable around. And my job miraculously fits around the rest of my life. I have a propensity for working an odd nocturnal schedule or binge testing for 12 hours straight when it feels right, but then I can also take off to play outside with my dog just because it’s nice and sunny.”
– Natalia“The people- they take great care with the work that they do- we take great pride in delighting our customers and everyone’s work here contributes to that. They also take great care with each other- everyone here is willing to help each other and provide support.”
– Tammy“The culture. It’s centered on the idea that we all bring value to the company and the products we work on, and we are valued for who we are and what we do. Even though I’m the first person to have my role at Rustici, I’ve never been made to feel like I had to prove that it should exist or that I should be here. It’s accepted. And I feel accepted for who I am–nerdy interests and a kid who occasionally pops her head into a meeting during a teacher workday. That doesn’t mean there aren’t high expectations–there are! But we’re encouraged to meet them in our own ways, manage our own time and bring our own perspectives to not just what we do, but also how we do it.”
– Rebecca“The people I work with are the best part about Rustici. They operate from a place of kindness and respect that makes even the most technically challenging days better.”
– Dottie
We appreciate all of our tech “Wonder Women,” not just during Women’s Month but each and every day. If working for a company that values all of their wonderful people, check out Tammy’s open letter to and our open positions.
