In My Shoes: Software Engineer

The journey of one woman in STEM — Nikita Agarwal

Writing a blog is something I usually try to avoid, but sharing my LimeTray story was something I always wanted to do!

Before joining LimeTray, given my past experiences, I wasn’t sure whether I’ll be able to stick to one organization for more than one year. I had switched jobs frequently and Limetray was technically my fourth job within the first year of my career — but it’s been more than 2 years in LimeTray now and I haven’t looked back.

I joined LimeTray initially as Web Designer in December of 2014. Working with enthusiastic people around has always been fun and I find that it makes me work harder. Soon I got recognition and appreciation for my work and that’s one thing which always kept me motivated.

In 2015, this allowed me to switch departments to Technology and I went from being a web designer to a front end developer — one of the few women in the tech team! Switching profiles gave a new direction to my career. It came with the challenge of learning new things, expanding my domain, proving myself among new people and getting recognition for a new line of work.

It took me a bit of time to get mixed up with my new team, although I never did face any issues from them, despite the relatively lower number of women in technology. In fact, this brings to mind a funny story about the time when, a few months into my tenure in the Tech team, I became its only female member (for a little while). Around this time some of my colleagues started referring to me as the “ladli beti (precious daughter)” of Tech. I share a comfortable vibe with my team and once the rapport was established, they always made me feel welcome here. Soon I settled in and started enjoying my work.

However, it took quite some time before I started getting recognized for my skills in tech. I remember the first time I got appreciated for my work was about 3–4 months after I had joined the team, when I started working on one of our products called iCRM. I completely changed the UI of this product to what it looks like now — for this I got immense recognition from my team and I count it as one of my proudest moments.

Ever since, I have always been appreciated and respected for my contribution to the team and that has kept me motivated all along.

I think the main reasons LimeTray has kept me motivated are the immense technical growth, the appreciation for good work that comes willingly and the great work culture and team that makes me feel happy and welcome.

It surprises me that I am the oldest female employee in the company and I hope to complete 3 years with the company soon :)

-Nikita Agarwal