Engineer.inspect with Mary Koenke
On landing that first engineering gig.
Welcome to Engineer.inspect, an interview series introducing engineers across Vimeo. Get a glimpse into who we are and what we’re about.
Intro, please. What’s your name?
Well, hello there! I’m Mary Koenke. My pronouns are she/her.
What do you do at Vimeo?
I am an Associate Software Engineer on our OTT Payments team. At Vimeo OTT, we empower anyone to monetize their content. Anyone can come to Vimeo with videos they created — or created with us using Vimeo Create, which is a fantastic authoring tool — and sell their content to the world.
The Payments team handles a three-sided payment system. We handle collecting money from customers, paying out the profit to sellers, and collecting taxes and fees for OTT. Who doesn’t love taxes and fees?
Which languages and frameworks do you use at work?
Our back end is built with Ruby on Rails, and our front end is JavaScript with React.js.
Word on the street is that you went to a coding boot camp prior to Vimeo. What made you take the leap to learn to code?
The word on the street is correct! During the pandemic I was afforded the opportunity to reevaluate what I wanted to do in my career. Shortly before the world shut down I was at the Apple Store with my daughter to get my phone fixed. Apple was offering an intro to coding class, so we dropped in. My thought was, “This would be an amazing career for my daughter if she enjoys it.” Turns out, she thought it was cool, but I loved it. So when the world stood still, I started moving and looking into how to turn coding into a career for myself. It’s never too late, although admittedly scary. I found Flatiron School and jumped in headfirst.
How does it feel to have successfully pivoted into engineering?
Absolutely surreal! It is one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself. I was accepted into Flatiron’s Software Engineering Immersive course, a 15-week program with nine hours per day of structured time that did not include any additional studying or work to complete. I probably averaged 60 or 70 hours of work each week. It took me from literally zero coding experience to building full-stack applications using Ruby on Rails, and JavaScript with React and Redux.
We worked through five modules that were three weeks each. The first week was a firehose to-the-face of information through lectures and interactive work. The second week was a timed code challenge and additional lectures preparing for the next module. The third week was a group or solo project to demonstrate in practice what we had learned. It was a whirlwind.
I went through an emotional roller coaster because I am a perfectionist. I want to understand everything there possibly is to know about a topic, and there just was no time for that. I had to embrace the fact that there were simply not enough hours in the day and keep moving forward. Once I started to trust the process, I began to connect the dots, and the puzzle pieces started to fit together.
The boot camp was hard, but I loved the challenge. Flatiron prepared me well. It stretched me out of my comfort zone and showed me how much I am capable of. The most valuable lesson was learning how to learn. As a software engineer, I learn on a daily basis.
I remember as a child when I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up, the only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to work with a team of brilliant people, and I have found that at Vimeo. My team is the best! We have the autonomy to take ownership of our work, we support each other, and we are building some amazing things together. I feel like I am extremely lucky to have found a home here.
Any words of advice for someone graduating boot camp or starting their first engineering job?
Don’t give up! Finding your first engineering job is not an easy feat. For me, I prioritized networking because people hire people, not resumes. That’s what ended up working for me. The days of mass emailing resumes and cold applications are over. By connecting with people, and especially people who had walked the path I was walking, I was able to learn from their stories. I could get more of a feel for the way the company operates and company culture. During my job search, what I was looking for, above all else, was a great culture fit, and I found that at Vimeo.
Starting my first engineering job in a culture that is supportive and collaborative has fostered enormous growth in me. I am in a position where I am not afraid to ask questions and reach out for help, surrounded by people who want to help each other. Working in that dynamic has empowered me to take risks and take on challenges because I am not afraid to fail. Everyone wants to see each other succeed, and everyone celebrates each other’s successes. It’s a great environment to learn and grow in. If only you all could read our release email chains. They’re fire!
Tell us about something you worked on recently that you crushed. Or that you were crushed by.
I’m going to keep this response positive, since anything that feels crushing is only temporary until I learn how to do it! We were having issues with spam on our checkout page, so we implemented a solution to block fraudulent IP addresses and metrics to monitor with Datadog. I love anything that ends with Datadog monitoring. Seeing real data represented in graphs is so useful and exceptionally satisfying. Watching failed transaction rates drop by 95 percent or thereabouts is beautiful.
Remote or in the office?
Remote.
Care to share why?
Both definitely have their benefits. I went into the office the day Vimeo went public and the energy was vibrant, and I really enjoyed meeting my coworkers. I opted for being remote mostly due to family. My parents are aging, and I like being close to them to help out, but close to them is in South Jersey. It’s really great to experience how Vimeo wants to set everyone up for success and supports their needs both inside and outside of work.
What has inspired you recently?
I attended RubyConf in Denver recently, my first tech conference. It was an incredible experience. I randomly sat down with Jeremy Evans at lunch, the author of Polished Ruby Programming, and he gave me a copy of his book. Another day I was sitting with Mike Perham, the creator of Sidekiq. It was inspiring to meet people who have been successful and made an impact in the tech world. It solidified my belief that I can also create a positive impact in the world throughout my career.
It’s your last meal on Earth. Tell me about it.
Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl with double blackened chicken. It’s just perfect.
What are you most looking forward to in the new year?
I love New Year’s — the new beginnings, new goals, the chance to look back and evaluate what went well and where there is room for growth. I have learned a tremendous amount this past year as an engineer, and what I am looking forward to most is being able to look back at the end of next year and see continued progress. I have a passion for learning and always said if I could go to school forever, and it would pay my bills, it would make me very happy. Making the career change into software engineering has realized that dream for me.
Care to join us? Check out our jobs page. And stay tuned for more Engineer.inspect posts.
