In this episode, Saron talks to Anna McDougall, Director of Product and Engineering for the tech subsidiary of Europe's largest media publisher, Axel Springer National Media & Tech. Anna grew up in Sydney, Australia, and moved to Germany to pursue a career as an opera singer. At 32 she rediscovered her love for code and technology and made the switch to software engineering. She quickly discovered her mix of software and social skills made her perfect for leadership and technical speaking. Today, Saron and Anna discuss her experience in tech and navigating the career transition from entertainment to code. She is also the author of "You Belong in Tech: How to Go from Zero Programming Knowledge to Hired", and is passionate about getting historically excluded individuals into tech.
Show LinksFormer opera singer turned software engineer Anna McDougall is originally from Australia, but now lives in Leipzig, Germany. She currently works as Director, Product and Engineering (Projects and Organisation) for Axel Springer National Media & Tech GmbH, based in Berlin. There, she consults on project teams spanning AI, ML, web development, data science/analytics, AR/VR, DevOps, and more. Her work involves lifting up other engineers to better advocate for their work; representing the company's technical teams at conferences, meetups, and events; and also promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives for technical staff. Anna has consistently striven to motivate and drive practical results for others trying to transition into a tech career.
S27:E8 - Learning AI (Matt Eland)
S27:E7 - Tech and Art (Chris Immel)
S27:E6 - The Crossover of Health, Technology and Art (Daniel Bourke)
S27:E5 - Navigating the AI Evolution (Chelsea Kaufman)
S27:E4 - Living the Dream with AI (Rob Frelow)
S27:E3 - Helping You Build Machine Learning Products (Pau Labarta Bajo)
S27:E2 - The Journey from Sound Engineer to Software Engineer (Alejandro Aspinwall)
S27:E1 - Nurturing Relationships for AI Excellence (Shawn Charles)
S26:E8 - Being Open to the Unexpected (Katherine Evans)
S26:E7 - Thoughts on Degrees and Bootcamps (Johnny Proano)
S26:E6 - Embracing Rest for Productivity (Ronesha Dennis)
S26:E5 - Exploring the Path from Medicine to a Tech Career (Shona Chan)
S26:E4 - The Ins and Outs of LinkedIn (Laura Thorson)
S26:E3 - Learning to Code with a Full-Time Job (Beau Carnes)
S26:E2 - Freelancing While Homeschooling (Sarah Greer)
S26:E1 - Make Your Accomplishments Visible (Camille Eddy)
S25:E8 - Empowering Developers of All Abilities (Judith Lung)
S25:E7 - Overcoming Fears and Pursuing Passions (Stefi Rosca)
S25:E6 - Big Tech: What They Say vs. What They Mean (Rachel Lee Nabors)
S25:E5 - Mastering Leadership (Brian Jenney)
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