Short intro about yourself (including how you joined MongoDb and how long you’ve been here)
I’m a graduate of the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science, major in Information Systems and Computer Science. My path to MongoDB has been fun (outlined in the next questions), and I joined in March 2021. Jumping companies during pandemics was risky, but it proved to be the best career decision I’ve made so far. I started as a Cloud Support Associate and was later recognised for my early efforts with a promotion to Cloud Support Engineer.
What’s your background
It started with an internship at a large multinational technology corp where I got my first taste of support work, then a graduate program at one of Australia’s big-4 banks working as a business analyst in networks, then a systems engineer/architect moving a core-banking system to AWS cloud (super cool). I also had a few part-time gigs in between, stacking shelves at Woolies and working in a warehouse (degrees don’t pay for themselves!).
Tell us about your role at MongoDB and what it involves
The role, at its core, is ensuring the success of and smooth operations for customers using the MongoDB Atlas platform. My actual responsibilities and duties are plentiful and varied including a mix of working on customer support cases, assisting colleagues in their support case work, putting in my best at slack banter, project work for the betterment of Technical Services employees and customer experience, working on customer/product feedback for Product Teams, interviewing potential future team members, training and mentoring colleagues, and progressing my professional learning (1 hr protected learning time four days a week is awesome). So, there is plenty to do and plenty to keep work satisfying and interesting!
What work have you been most excited about since starting your role?
Solving problems for our customers daily, and learning about such an awesome product on the way. It’s very motivating and empowering working for a company that’s building an awesome product, which is solving real developer problems. The pace at which the MongoDB Atlas Developer Data Platform is evolving is also invigorating.
What’s something you’ve learnt about that surprised you on joining MongoDB?
How team collaboration can be achieved so well in a fully-remote setting. I was onboarded remotely, worked remotely full-time, and felt perfectly integrated into the team the entire time. I felt that I could also contribute from day one, which was awesome. The collaborative culture is something that sets MongoDB apart, and it’s a joy working with the team.
What do you love the most about your job? Which kind of task do you enjoy the most?
As an engineer, there is nothing more satisfying than successfully troubleshooting a problem and having a system run smoothly. Diving into an unfamiliar issue, with plenty of research into the product along the way, is one of the most challenging, and enjoyable, tasks.
What’s the coolest thing about your job?
Taking real customer feedback and product improvement ideas and feeding them straight to the Product Team, for the feedback to be heard! The Product Teams are super responsive to feedback, and seeing ideas actually make it into the product is super cool. On top of that, we get to work with so many different teams inside MongoDB, meeting plenty of different characters along the way, and learning a ton.
What are the career prospects of your job?
Support Engineering is something you can excel at in a full career, and MongoDB facilitates this. There is a defined career path as an individual contributor, with more senior and specialised roles, or alternative paths in people leadership (depending on the needs and growth of the team). Career progression is very much valued and fostered by the MongoDB leadership team.
Are there any limitations to your job? Do you bear a lot of responsibility? Do you have to work on weekends? Are stress levels high?
The range of issues and the breadth of the Atlas product can be both exciting and stressful at times, however, MongoDB does a good job to facilitate learning and provide resources to help with troubleshooting.
Working in escalated emergency customer situations, where real-world applications are impacted, can also be stressful, but there is always support along the way.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student…
What tips can you share with prospective students who are going through the application or recruitment process?
Demonstrate your skills and experience as much as possible, making your strengths known and how they make you a good fit for a specific role. Try to add personal flair (if that’s your jam) to applications and interview rounds - teams very much do assess how you’ll fit in the team as much as your technical skills, and this can help set you apart from other candidates.
If you’re having trouble securing an internship or graduate placement, don’t forget that there are things you can build on your own, or freelance roles you can do, to build up a portfolio of real skills and examples to demonstrate your worth.