Mentoring Women Learning to Code with Pauline Narvas
Tags: devchats, learning, career, journey
Published: 2019-11-24 01:41:33

---
title: Mentoring Women Learning to Code with Pauline Narvas
published: true
tags: dev chats, learning, career, journey
canonical_url: https://www.samjarman.co.nz/blog/pauline-narvas
---

  ![PAULINE.jpg](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58bfb8c059cc68cc36914ea9/t/5c7b613553450a4d583ecca2/1551589870827/PAULINE.jpg?format=1000w)  

### Introduce yourself! Who are you? Where do you work?

Hi there! My name is Pauline. My formal job title is “Digital Development and Operations Graduate” at BT. I’m currently on a training programme (or graduate scheme as they like to call it in the UK), where I’ve joined the Digital Engineering team. During my two year programme, I have the opportunity to rotate around different teams ranging from Architecture, Development, Testing and all the way to Release! It’s a unique way to get an understanding of the vast number of careers in technology and hopefully specialise in something by the end of the scheme. Outside my 9-5, I’m also a freelance remote web developer and designer as well as a content creator!

### Who or what got you into programming?

I got into development/programming when I was 8 years old. I wanted to change aspects of an online game I was playing, and since I worked out it was online, on a website, I decided to learn how to build a website. From then, I dove into front-end web development which I completely fell in love with. I developed several simple, fun websites over time and eventually started developing Wordpress themes in which at the same time I started blogging.

### How has having a strong online presence (blog, youtube etc) had an impact on your career?

I absolutely _love_ this question. Having a strong online presence has had a massive impact on my career, it has given me opportunities I never thought were possible including being a keynote and panel speaker at conferences and events, being part of campaigns that I’m passionate about, securing my jobs and most importantly, getting my voice out there which has had a direct impact on which companies have seen an alignment with my values to theirs. [This all works if you have a positive online presence, of course!](https://pawlean.com/2018/11/25/building-an-online-presence/)

### How has volunteering mentoring women learning to code had an impact on your career?

So for those that aren’t familiar with my background, I volunteered with a non-profit organisation, Code First: Girls for over the last 2 years in Sheffield and Leeds. This has greatly impacted my career in a positive way. One of the main things I looked out for when I was applying to jobs was their diversity and inclusion statements, this means a lot to me as a woman of colour who has experienced bias in the past. This has helped me find the right companies that align to my values and led me to where I am today! :) Volunteering with Code First: Girls also gave me the confidence to pursue a career in tech in the first place.

### Have you got any hobbies outside of your job? Do you think they help your tech career in any way?

My hobby of [blogging and documenting](http://pawlean.com) my learnings and experience has helped my tech career massively! This has been able to give people who have wanted to work with me, a better picture of what I’m interested in, how we can work well together and more. Examples I can think of include, several job interviews, speaking gigs and podcast features etc. Blogging has helped improve my way of communicating in a written format and get my thoughts in an organised format - something that is important for any career really! Another hobby that has indirectly helped is weight-lifting or superhero-training as I like to call it, it’s made me more confident and resilient when I do face challenges.

### What books/resources would you recommend for others wanting to follow a path similar to yours?

I actually wrote a blog post with a bunch of resources on anyone wanting to learn how to get started with coding - [you can check it out here!](https://pawlean.com/2019/01/14/learning-to-code/)

### Finally, make your shoutout! What would you like the readers to go have a look at?

I write blogs at pawlean.com, tweet at [@paulienuh](http://twitter.com/paulienuh), gram at @[paw.lean](http://instagram.com/paw.lean) and for more information about my wider portfolio, check me out at [paulinenarvas.com](http://paulinenarvas.com).