V
Verina Lefterova
Guest
In the world of software development, the role of a Technical Support Engineer often goes unnoticed. Yet, it's a crucial part of the industry. This role is not just about providing support; it involves a deep understanding of programming and problem-solving. In this interview, we delve into the experiences of Zornitsa, a Junior Technical Support Engineer at Progress, who shares her journey, which began as a Software Engineer Intern and led her to her current role. Learn more as you read about the blend of technical skills and customer interaction that defines her job.
My name is Zornitsa Stoyanova and I am a Technical Support Engineer on the Kendo UI for Angular team at Progress. Currently, I’m in my fourth year studying “Informatics and Software Science” at the Technical University of Sofia. My journey with programming began in high school when I started studying Informatics. I've had a passion for it ever since. I joined Progress as a Software Engineer Intern and over time, I advanced to my current role as Technical Support Engineer.
My internship experience started because I was eager to kickstart my career in programming and decided that the summer internship at Progress was the perfect opportunity to do so. I was nervous at first, unsure of what to expect. However, from the moment I started, every person I met made me feel welcome, ensuring that I could demonstrate my abilities without feeling anxious. The internship lasted for six months which overlapped with the beginning of my third year at the university. This wasn’t a problem because my team as Progress was accommodating and offered me flexible working hours that allowed me to adjust around my university schedule. This experience was invaluable—it gave me the chance to explore the real-world work environment and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity. This experience significantly shaped my career path.
During my internship, I had the opportunity to experience firsthand the responsibilities of two different roles: Technical Support Engineer and Software Developer. The internship was divided into two 3-month periods, each dedicated to one of these roles with specific tasks and activities tailored to each.
I started with the Technical Support Engineer position in which my chief responsibilities included solving various implementation problems faced by clients (who were also software developers themselves) and maintaining technical documentation of the product.
In the second half of my internship, I transitioned to the Software Developer role. Here, I worked on solving bugs and contributed to developing new features for the product.
Each role had its own mentor, both of whom were exceptional in guiding me through their respective responsibilities.
During the internship, I worked in the Kendo UI for jQuery team, after which I transferred to my current team. Although the transition was into a new framework (the Angular framework), my new mentor and manager were incredibly supportive and helped with my integration in the new team. They helped me get comfortable with the new technology, contributing greatly to my learning journey.
Both onboarding plans—one for each team—helped me have a clear vision and provided guidance on what was expected of me at each stage.
The role of a Technical Support Engineer has greatly enhanced both my programming and communication skills. Every day brought new challenges and the chance to solve new problems, with each client representing a unique scenario. This wide-ranging experience has helped boost my creativity, critical thinking and analytical abilities to a great extent.
Furthermore, time management became a key skill that I developed. Clients expect timely responses to their issues and it’s my responsibility to diagnose the problem and propose a solution within the expected timeframe.
I’m also happy to say that my communication skills have improved considerably. Once I’ve figured out a solution, I must explain it in a clear, concise and understandable manner for the clients who can then apply it to their scenario.
I preferred the Technical Support Engineer role because it perfectly encompasses the two subjects that I was passionate about in school—English and Informatics. I studied in a language high school where English was the central part of my major. My decision to study Informatics at university was in line with my intention to develop programming skills and find a job that would combine these two interests. When I explored the Technical Support Engineer role during my internship, I realized that it was the perfect fit for my skills and interests and I naturally wanted to continue my career in this direction.
Another factor that influenced this decision was that the Technical Support Engineer role at Progress involves actual programming and problem-solving with code. At first, I was misled by the word “support” in the role’s title, which made me think that it would focus only on communication with clients. However, I quickly learned that the scope of the role is quite broad and requires significant technical skills.
My daily responsibilities in this role include solving various use-case scenarios for different clients. This means that I often explore unfamiliar applications, understand the specific issues the client is facing and figure out and implement a solution that meets their needs.
What also drew me to this role was the opportunity to communicate with clients directly and understand their perspectives regarding our product and its functionalities. I find great satisfaction in providing efficient solutions for the customers, helping them navigate their challenges and ensuring that they get the most out of our product. This adds an extra layer of fulfilment to the technical aspects of the role.
What excites me most about my current role is the opportunity to help others by providing effective solutions to the technical challenges faced by our clients every day. Since our clients are often software developers themselves, many of whom are building applications with technologies they’re familiar with, I often find myself expanding my programming knowledge based on the valuable insights they share.
In addition, facing and solving a variety of technical problems every day allows me to continuously learn and improve my problem-solving skills, making this another exciting aspect of the Technical Support Engineer position.
The programming aspect of this role is very stimulating as well. It has significantly enhanced my coding skills and broadened my knowledge of development technologies and frameworks. Since I work in a division focused on web development, I’ve had the opportunity to explore languages like JavaScript, HTML and CSS in detail. During my internship at Progress, I also had the chance to learn jQuery, and now in my current role, I'm expanding my expertise by working on the Angular framework on my team.
Building relationships with colleagues on my team and across the company is also something that excites me in this role. The Technical Support Engineer position specifically involves constant interaction with software developers and QA engineers, both within my team and across other teams. This is crucial because often there are some complicated customer cases that require consultation with a developer to help determine the best solution. These interactions offer an exciting opportunity not only to learn from colleagues but also to witness firsthand the entire software development lifecycle—from development through testing on to documenting and to finally providing effective support for the product.
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Please introduce yourself.
My name is Zornitsa Stoyanova and I am a Technical Support Engineer on the Kendo UI for Angular team at Progress. Currently, I’m in my fourth year studying “Informatics and Software Science” at the Technical University of Sofia. My journey with programming began in high school when I started studying Informatics. I've had a passion for it ever since. I joined Progress as a Software Engineer Intern and over time, I advanced to my current role as Technical Support Engineer.
Tell us more about your internship experience in 2023.
My internship experience started because I was eager to kickstart my career in programming and decided that the summer internship at Progress was the perfect opportunity to do so. I was nervous at first, unsure of what to expect. However, from the moment I started, every person I met made me feel welcome, ensuring that I could demonstrate my abilities without feeling anxious. The internship lasted for six months which overlapped with the beginning of my third year at the university. This wasn’t a problem because my team as Progress was accommodating and offered me flexible working hours that allowed me to adjust around my university schedule. This experience was invaluable—it gave me the chance to explore the real-world work environment and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity. This experience significantly shaped my career path.
At Progress, every newcomer has a mentor and an onboarding plan. What type of activities/ tasks were included in yours?
During my internship, I had the opportunity to experience firsthand the responsibilities of two different roles: Technical Support Engineer and Software Developer. The internship was divided into two 3-month periods, each dedicated to one of these roles with specific tasks and activities tailored to each.
I started with the Technical Support Engineer position in which my chief responsibilities included solving various implementation problems faced by clients (who were also software developers themselves) and maintaining technical documentation of the product.
In the second half of my internship, I transitioned to the Software Developer role. Here, I worked on solving bugs and contributed to developing new features for the product.
Each role had its own mentor, both of whom were exceptional in guiding me through their respective responsibilities.
During the internship, I worked in the Kendo UI for jQuery team, after which I transferred to my current team. Although the transition was into a new framework (the Angular framework), my new mentor and manager were incredibly supportive and helped with my integration in the new team. They helped me get comfortable with the new technology, contributing greatly to my learning journey.
Both onboarding plans—one for each team—helped me have a clear vision and provided guidance on what was expected of me at each stage.
Having the opportunity to explore firsthand the role of Technical Support Engineer, what type of skills did you manage to cultivate and improve?
The role of a Technical Support Engineer has greatly enhanced both my programming and communication skills. Every day brought new challenges and the chance to solve new problems, with each client representing a unique scenario. This wide-ranging experience has helped boost my creativity, critical thinking and analytical abilities to a great extent.
Furthermore, time management became a key skill that I developed. Clients expect timely responses to their issues and it’s my responsibility to diagnose the problem and propose a solution within the expected timeframe.
I’m also happy to say that my communication skills have improved considerably. Once I’ve figured out a solution, I must explain it in a clear, concise and understandable manner for the clients who can then apply it to their scenario.
What made you choose to be a Technical Support Engineer instead of Software Engineer after the internship program?
I preferred the Technical Support Engineer role because it perfectly encompasses the two subjects that I was passionate about in school—English and Informatics. I studied in a language high school where English was the central part of my major. My decision to study Informatics at university was in line with my intention to develop programming skills and find a job that would combine these two interests. When I explored the Technical Support Engineer role during my internship, I realized that it was the perfect fit for my skills and interests and I naturally wanted to continue my career in this direction.
Another factor that influenced this decision was that the Technical Support Engineer role at Progress involves actual programming and problem-solving with code. At first, I was misled by the word “support” in the role’s title, which made me think that it would focus only on communication with clients. However, I quickly learned that the scope of the role is quite broad and requires significant technical skills.
My daily responsibilities in this role include solving various use-case scenarios for different clients. This means that I often explore unfamiliar applications, understand the specific issues the client is facing and figure out and implement a solution that meets their needs.
What also drew me to this role was the opportunity to communicate with clients directly and understand their perspectives regarding our product and its functionalities. I find great satisfaction in providing efficient solutions for the customers, helping them navigate their challenges and ensuring that they get the most out of our product. This adds an extra layer of fulfilment to the technical aspects of the role.
What excites you the most in your current role?
What excites me most about my current role is the opportunity to help others by providing effective solutions to the technical challenges faced by our clients every day. Since our clients are often software developers themselves, many of whom are building applications with technologies they’re familiar with, I often find myself expanding my programming knowledge based on the valuable insights they share.
In addition, facing and solving a variety of technical problems every day allows me to continuously learn and improve my problem-solving skills, making this another exciting aspect of the Technical Support Engineer position.
The programming aspect of this role is very stimulating as well. It has significantly enhanced my coding skills and broadened my knowledge of development technologies and frameworks. Since I work in a division focused on web development, I’ve had the opportunity to explore languages like JavaScript, HTML and CSS in detail. During my internship at Progress, I also had the chance to learn jQuery, and now in my current role, I'm expanding my expertise by working on the Angular framework on my team.
Building relationships with colleagues on my team and across the company is also something that excites me in this role. The Technical Support Engineer position specifically involves constant interaction with software developers and QA engineers, both within my team and across other teams. This is crucial because often there are some complicated customer cases that require consultation with a developer to help determine the best solution. These interactions offer an exciting opportunity not only to learn from colleagues but also to witness firsthand the entire software development lifecycle—from development through testing on to documenting and to finally providing effective support for the product.
Continue reading...