[Progress News] [Progress OpenEdge ABL] Meet Hetali Shah, Technical Support Engineer at Progress

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Danielle Sutherby

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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. Sometimes customers call with questions, but most of the time I’m working on support tickets. A 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. Most of our Angular people are based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and I’m one of the only ones with Angular knowledge 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 principal engineer, I will still be learning. There’s something different every day.

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


Yeah I got my bachelor of engineering degree in information technology at the University of Mumbai in India. But India has a lot of engineers, so even though there are job opportunities, there is a lot of competition. So I decided to move to the States. I wanted to get a step ahead of others in my field so I enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Lowell for my master’s in computer science. I got my degree in May 2018, and then I had to wait until September for a work permit. While I was waiting for my work permit, I actually took the extra time I had to learn React. When I’m learning how to do something, I want to do it myself.

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. She also always makes time for us. She’s just awesome 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 the exact opposite end of that, I love binge-watching TV and cooking. I like to create healthy versions of food and desserts. Even though it’s dessert, at least it’s still a bit healthy.

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

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