She Develops Mobile Apps For Hearst And Bikes 86 Miles A Week In Brazil
Brazil-based Priscila Apocalypse is used to standing out. She has been the only woman employee on the three tech teams that she has worked on. Hearst Television recently brought the talented Android Developer on as a direct hire, and she now works for them from her home office in Pouso Alegre.
PowerToFly spoke with the focused yet adventurous Hearst TV developer about what it’s like working for a global brand, how she racks up to 86 miles a week as a mountain biker, and why her mom threw her a party, when she moved back home.
By: Chie Davis
What has your experience been like working remotely for Hearst TV?
It’s amazing. In my role I’m introduced to new technologies. I’m very happy with this job. I study ways to implement new features for Hearst TV apps. I enjoy the challenge because I like problem solving. Right now I’m working on ways to implement video, in the future, for Android apps. I’ve never worked with video before, so it’s new to me. Hearst TV broadcasts live news on 29 stations and I’m very happy to contribute to all of the news apps.
Describe your typical work day.
I start my day around 9 a.m. and try to finish around 5 or 6 p.m. I check and update my tasks based on my progress from the day before. I start my tasks with Android, review my code and if all is OK, I submit my code to GitHub and we make sure that it aligns with the team. It’s my responsibility is to make things work for our Android apps.
I’m on a team with another Brazilian, named Victor, who lives/works two hours away. We share tasks and discuss the workflow. We have a daily afternoon meeting with our New York team. We talk about all of the things we’re doing and if there are problems to report. Our team is great. They take the time to jump on Google Hangouts, if I need more information. They’re also patient with me, as I’m still learning English. I learn by playing video games, like Doom, in my free time. PowerToFly also helped a lot by providing me with English classes.
What’s one cool thing about your job or your team that most people, outside of the company, don’t know?
Communication is great on our team. If you do something well, they speak highly of you. I worked for another company for three years and when I did a good job, they didn’t say anything. I was the only woman on my team there and also now at Hearst TV. But with Hearst I never feel like there’s a difference between all of us … Because they are global, they are open. They consider all suggestions. They’re a big company, but they don’t operate that way. There are a lot of smart and focused people on our team. It’s inspirational.
Tell us more about the company culture at Hearst TV.
They’re very flexible. If I need to take a day off, they allow me to make up that time on the weekends or whenever I have free time. They also incentivize you to work more, without pressuring you. I make my own hours. I like to wake up early because I’m a mountain biker. I ride about 30 to 40 kilometers a day (18–24 miles). On the weekends I do bike 100 kilometers (62 miles). Because of this job, being active in sports can be a reality, because we can train everyday. I usually start on a trail near here, in my city and go to another city. I put my bike on my back to climb mountains and see waterfalls. It’s perfect. I’m also a sketch artist, and have time to practice. I draw and paint faces and animals. My grandmother is an artist and teaches me lots of different techniques.
It seems like you’re able to spend a lot of time with your friends and family. Are they supportive of your new remote tech role?
Yes, they are very happy! Before working at Hearst TV, I lived in Sao Paulo alone. I’d moved from my city to work in an office. I was very sad, because it’s hard to live alone. Now I’m back in my city, with my family. My mother actually threw a party for me, when I moved back home. She’s a former techie and was also supposed to be a computer programmer. But during the time that she worked, they didn’t accept her, because they excluded women . It was so bad, she had to change careers. She went to work for a bank.
Did you know other women in tech growing up?
Aside from my mom, no. I’ve started to contribute to open source, likeFedora and Buntu. I was also introduced to a group called Girl Develop It in San Francisco, where I can network, they’re great! They create online groups to learn and share technology with other women. I work with Java code and also share tutorials on my website.
When did you develop an interest in coding?
I learned computer programming in 2005 and started working as an embedded software developer. But the pay for that job here is very low, it’s terrible. It’s more challenging than mobile, but it doesn’t pay like mobile. So I moved to work in mobile, with Android and framework layers. I developed an interest in the applications layer, but they didn’t support my desire to learn more about it, so I started looking for remote careers. My friend did a Google search and found PowerToFly, but she doesn’t code. She passed the link along to me. I checked out your Facebook and Twitter pages and thought, “Oh, this is cool.” I created an account and got a call from Deveshe, one of your talent managers. I solidified the job with Hearst, shortly thereafter.
What’s one thing that people don’t know about women who code?
Women who code do parallel things, at the same time. We are the ultimate multitaskers, which makes a difference in code. I started some projects with Java, at the same time with Scripts and this method doesn’t impact the results. I think that men start one thing and finish it, then move onto the other. If companies truly knew how good we are at multitasking, they’d probably hire more women.
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