This is a post in our Your Django Story series where we highlight awesome ladies who work with Django. Read more about it here.



Anna is a software engineer at 10Clouds . She has been in the developers’ world since 2007. She loves coding in Python, sewing, cycling and drinking coffee. She is 28 years old and has recently moved to Wrocław, Poland where she will be co-organizing a Django Girls event.

How did your story with code start?

My story isn’t any kind of special fairy tale. I have studied Computer Science and started working as a developer. It was hard at first, but I met a few very inspiring and helpful people, some of who stayed with me and made me progress. I started with PHP and classic ASP and managed to retrain myself to Python as a next step.

What did you do before becoming a programmer?

I didn’t work before becoming a programmer. Earlier I imagined myself as a systems administrator because I was interested in unix-like systems. In the end programming proved to be more fulfilling and exciting.

What do you love the most about coding?

I like creating new things by myself and feeling that I am useful. It is great to know that I am able to create whatever I can imagine.

Why Django?

At the moment that I decided to go from PHP to Python, Django was the most popular Python framework. It was easy to learn, with a lot of online resources to take from and a great community.

What cool projects are you working on at the moment/planning on working on in the near future?

Currently I am creating my first iOS application, this is also my first experience with mobile application development, so everything is new and unknown to me. I am also in the process of co-preparing a new Django Girls chapter in Wrocław, Poland and that is even more exciting!

What are you the most proud of?

I am most proud of learning that each developer has a different set of skills. It made me understand that I am a valuable developer with the exact set of skills I own. I don’t need to know the computation complexity of all sorting methods to create applications that work, look nice and meet the needs of end users. I am also proud that when I don’t know something I am not afraid to ask someone who has a different set of skills and knowledge range.

What are you curious about?

I am curious about new technologies. I get bored quite quickly with the things I work on and technologies I work with. During last two years I was switching between many different languages while working in the same company.

What do you like doing in your free time? What’s your hobby?

It probably won’t be surprising if I say that I like making things. My main hobby is sewing. I love 40’s and 50’s style so I am creating dresses and skirts in that style.

Do you have any advice/tips for programming beginners?

Programming can give you a really hard time at the beginning but don’t give up. It took me a long time to understand some things that were simple and self explanatory for other people I have been working with.

Don’t be afraid to ask! A developer isn’t by any means a person who knows everything. It is always good to consult your idea with another person. Asking somebody for help will save you time and nerves.

If you are stuck - describe what you have tried and what is your main problem, the more information you provide, the easier it will be for you both to come up with a solution.

Now that I am an experienced developer I find myself asking for help more than ever. It is not the domain of beginners!

Thanks Ania! :)