Women in Tech - Q&A with Deeksha Kini, Systems Support Engineer

In our first Women in Tech series interview, I spoke with Deeksha Kini, Systems Support Engineer at amazee.io.

Deeksha is originally from India but now calls Melbourne, Australia, home. She received her Bachelor's degree in Computer Sciences in India and then moved to Melbourne to pursue her Master's in Data Science.

When Deeksha isn’t working, she loves to catch up with friends. She’s an avid squash player and LOVES to compete at Pub Trivia nights. Deeksha meets up with her friends in Melbourne, crushes her opponents, and enjoys every second of it! When she can find more time off, she is an avid globetrotter and loves combining her interest in foreign countries with her passion for hiking.

Read on to learn more about Deeksha, her thoughts on Women in Tech today, and her experiences in the tech world.

💬 How do you feel about being a female employee at amazee.io?

A: I worked in India for two years after getting my bachelor's degree. Unlike my work environment in India, amazee.io has a very different work culture. In India, the age hierarchy still plays a role in the workplace. If your manager is a little older than you, you show respect—not just because he's your manager. I appreciate the expectations of that type of work environment, but it's a different work culture to that of amazee.io.

When I came to amazee.io, it felt like we were all equal peers; it never felt hierarchical. From day one, I felt very comfortable working at amazee.io. I've never hesitated to talk to anybody or address issues or topics. Say I have concerns or questions, and I voice them. I feel heard, and we work together to find solutions and answers. As a woman and the most junior on the support team, I value our team spirit. Even if I want to chat with Franz [Karlsberger, former CEO at amazee.io], I can just contact him directly on Slack. I love the work culture at amazee.io and feel very comfortable with everybody's friendly and approachable nature.

💬 I’d like to explore the differences between working as a woman in tech in India and Australia a bit more in-depth. Would you mind elaborating a bit, please?

A: The tech company I used to work for had a gender distribution of about 60% women and 40% men. The tech industry is a very competitive vertical. In India, careers as a doctor, an engineer, or a lawyer are very sought after. And given the population, they are very competitive fields and considered career options with high job security. So, many people seek education and careers in these fields. This is why, in India, having an excellent education and a degree in higher education are very important to many people.

In my experience, obtaining a degree in higher education has a slightly different importance in Australia. Many people I meet are positively surprised that I’ve received my Master's Degree [in Data Science from RMIT University] and am pursuing a career in the tech industry as a woman. This career path seems a bit less common here in Australia than in India.

💬 Why did you decide to study/work in the tech industry?

A: In high school in India, we had a choice of taking science, commerce, or arts, and I chose science. In science, you can take biology, statistics, or computer science. My elder sister took biology. With her, I saw how complex all the drawings and charting were, and I knew I didn't have the patience for that type of work. Honestly, I was also not interested in biology, so the safe option was computer science. I thought, "I get to do stuff with computers!” I loved it back then because I played many computer games (and I still do today!). Once I started with computer sciences, I was introduced to coding, which I really loved. It felt like solving a puzzle, which I love doing. I like that there's no one solution to a problem that comes up. You can solve the same issue in so many different ways. There are many ways code can be written for similar scenarios. That's what I like because you don't have to memorize anything and you don't have to remember everything. You can just solve an issue and find new, innovative, and optimal solutions. That aspect interested me and helped me learn more about computer science and coding. That's why I pursued my bachelor's in computer sciences after graduating high school. Regarding my Masters Degree, I mainly wanted to do data science because I had watched a video on YouTube about machine learning [in 2019] and how to apply machine learning. It blew my mind. I didn’t know what it was! Machine learning was a very new concept for me, and I was very, very curious about what it was. So I took the opportunity to do my Masters in that field. I also felt that it would be great for my career. I also really love a challenge. If you say I can't do something, I will do it to prove you wrong. I think that’s also one of the reasons I love working in the tech industry and why I pursued computer and data sciences.

💬 How would you best explain what your job entails?

A: My job as a Systems Support Engineer is basically to be our customers' first point of contact. When they have any problem or any issues, I'm the one who answers first. During my two years at amazee.io, I’ve gained enough experience and knowledge to solve many queries and tickets independently and move on to the next. However, we do have more complicated client issues. If these come up, I’ll escalate them to the correct team. Then, we have some client partnerships that require a little more finesse. To handle them involves a lot of patience and in-depth knowledge. These tickets can be a bit challenging. Additionally, I’m the only support team member in the APAC region. Thus, I need to prioritize the tickets during my shift, which can be tricky. What I love about my work, though, is that when I encounter difficulties or roadblocks, the members from other teams, such as the Platform team, will jump in and help me where they can, which I appreciate.

I also write a lot of documentation that covers our internal processes, but it can also be for customers so that with more minor issues, the customers can resolve the problems themselves without raising a ticket with us.

💬 What does a typical workday look like for you?

A: Each day is different. For example, yesterday, we had a public holiday in two of the states here [in Australia]. The volume of tickets was relatively low throughout the day. However, as soon as I sat down for work today, I already had multiple tickets waiting for my attention. And these were all high-priority tickets. So, really, I can’t say that I have a typical day!

💬 What would you say is the best part about being a woman in the tech industry?

A: I like to prove people wrong—Especially when they are prejudiced.

When I was in school, one of my classmates would say, ”You cannot do this because you're a girl. This is supposed to be done only by boys.” For example, my sister is a doctor. The societal expectation is that, as a girl, you're supposed to be nurturing and nice. My parents thought I could be a doctor and follow in my sister's footsteps. I disagreed. I cannot see blood, so that was not a good career choice for me. But computers are something that I love, and I love solving problems. And when I got into university, I saw that most of my classmates were girls, and there were only a few guys. That's when I felt that [in India] women are dominating tech. Being a part of that and proving gender prejudice wrong is something I very much appreciate.

💬 Looking back, did you ever see yourself ending up in a role like this? Or did you envision a different career path for yourself?

A: I did [envision a different career path]. When I started my Master's, I expected to become a data scientist and work as a data engineer or analyst. Covid changed a lot of aspects for me. I loved going to uni, sitting in the class, and listening to lectures; that's when I felt like I was my best. During Covid, I was an international student in a different country [Australia]. I had lost my part-time job. Also, the lockdown in Melbourne was very strict and active for a long time. Being in Melbourne with no source of income, having to rely on my parents again, just studying, and worrying about tuition was really hard, and it took a mental toll on me. That's when I lost a little of my interest in data science. I was so stressed when I was getting my Masters Degree that now, whenever I think about what I was studying, it brings back all the memories and all the feelings I had. I did not expect that, and today, I realize I could have done better during that period.

After that difficult time, I felt it was better to do what I love. I love interacting with customers and being part of a team. And to be honest, the work culture here [at amazee.io] has made life better for me.

Today, I am dabbling with machine learning a little bit and trying to get back into this topic and actively change my memories, feelings, and trauma regarding that period and that topic. Seeing that amazee.io as a company was picking up the AI/LLM topic inspired and motivated me to polish my knowledge and see how I could contribute.

💬 Do you think there are enough opportunities for women in tech?

A: I would say there are. I never faced a situation where I felt that, because I'm a woman, I was not getting an opportunity. I never experienced that. I've also never heard my friends talk about any issues in this regard. I would say [in Australia] we have equal opportunities.

💬 It’s no secret that few women are in the tech industry. What do you think—how can we and companies in the tech vertical try to attract more women to the industry?

A: I've heard from a friend that there are companies where you lose your job if you get pregnant, as they don't have maternity leave. So, having great benefits can definitely help to attract women to the tech vertical. Also, a safe workplace environment where women feel protected from judgment so they can express themselves and their unique needs could help, as could having a platform where women can discuss their concerns with one another and find solutions together.

💬 How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in technology? What tech trends or innovations are you most excited about now, and how do you see them shaping the future?

A: In tech, each day, something new comes out. So it takes work to stay up to date with everything. What I do is find topics that are important for the job role I currently have, and I give these priorities. What's the point of learning something I cannot apply to my job? I want to do my best and become good at what I do. So, I ensure I learn about technologies and topics essential for my career. For example, the application ‘Go’. I didn't know anything about the Go language. However, I know that we are using Go for Lagoon. That's something I might need to learn!

Regarding innovations, I’m excited about ChatGPT. The other day, one of our clients encountered an issue. They asked one of my teammates for a specific code snippet to find certain logs. My teammate asked ChatGPT to write the code snippet. He just typed a line saying that this is the code we need and this is the scenario. ChatGPT produced the correct code, which we checked and passed on to our client. It saved us and the client a lot of time. So, I'm curious to see how the future development of ChatGPT, AI, and LLMs plays out.

💬 How might AI technologies like ChatGPT shape your future in tech? Will it replace some of the tech workforce?

A: Let's say today a team has four or five people. It might be that the team shrinks to three people because AI takes over tasks. But AI will never take over because we are the ones who programmed AI. And there will always be issues with AI; it will never be perfect. There will always be inconsistencies, and people will always be needed. For example, if you see in your supermarket right now, you have self-checkout counters. That doesn't mean that the store fired all their cashiers! Humans will always be part of the workforce; even in tech, we’ll never be 100% replaced by AI.

💬 Do you feel AI technologies will make you more efficient?

A: Yes, I would say so. Sometimes, we have written specific snippets and couldn’t figure out what's wrong with them. We had to manually check line by line and debug the snippet to determine precisely where we made an error. But with AI, you can feed it the code; it tells you instantaneously where there’s a mistake or what's missing. Let's say you missed a parenthesis or a comma—AI tells you exactly where to add it. The amount of time this saves us is incredible. Additionally, AI will make us perform more efficiently.

💬 Any advice for women considering a future in the tech industry? Or anything that you wish you had known?

A: A big part of my job is that you always need to learn. Working as a systems engineer is not something you learn once and you’re done learning. You always have to keep learning and keep yourself updated. I enjoy this aspect of the job, and it keeps things interesting for me. I would also advise women in the tech vertical not to hesitate to do anything. I feel like they just need to have a candid attitude because, at first, it might seem complicated and overwhelming. It was for me. However, once you can see past your own fears and insecurities, it will be a fantastic career path. And, to be honest, it's a really friendly environment. The tech community is really, really friendly, and they're very encouraging and always happy to teach you something new. So, I would encourage women to take this opportunity and believe in themselves!

💬 Looking back, what would you tell your younger self, especially regarding your career path or personal growth?

A: Never hesitate to ask questions. I was very ashamed to ask questions because I was afraid my peers might think, “What did she do this entire time in Uni?” or similar negative things. So, I was always very hesitant to ask questions. In the meantime, I’ve learned that asking questions is great because it gets you thinking, and once you get an answer, it gives you another question in turn, making you learn more and grow more. I would also tell my younger self to take every opportunity that comes my way!

💬 Did you have any role models or mentors who have guided you? If so, how did they impact your career?

A: My role model is my Dad. He's an entrepreneur and industrialist. I have seen him fail and get back up and never give up. Whenever I have any problems or feel discouraged or demotivated, I just talk to him. He gives me positive examples, making me feel much better. And he encourages me to do better. Seeing how hard my Dad has worked and the fruits of his labor encourages me and keeps me going. So yeah, he's my role model.

💬 Is there anything else you want to discuss/mention concerning women in tech?

A: I feel like there is always a certain hesitation when it comes to any job with women. As women, sometimes we need to have thicker skin. I feel that once a woman is part of the workforce, some type of sexism will always be present. Always. Maybe in a joke or when we hang out as a group, there will always be some kind of male-driven group dynamic and some kind of sexism involved. We must grow a thick skin and stand up for ourselves when appropriate. However, standing up for yourself only works sometimes.

💬 Why do you feel that standing up works only sometimes?

A: There are just certain ignorant people in this world who will never change their opinions. So, standing up to this type of person is just a waste of time. It would be better to grow a thicker skin and ignore these people. Do not try to change them and waste energy; know when and where to channel your energy. That's what I would say. Because back when I was in India, there was a lot of casual sexism. And, of course, there were times when I spoke up, but there were times when I felt like ignorance is bliss because some people will never change.

Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me, Deeksha!

Stay tuned for further interviews in this series!