Women in Tech: Vaneela Khatri Reflects on Making History as the Youngest Member of BNY Mellon's Tech Team
By Gia Katwa
“I decided to learn about the C coding language from YouTube. I fell in love with it and decided to be a software developer one day. Today’s woman dreamer, Vaneela Khatri is a passionate technologist with a mission to mentor and empower other women in technology. She shares her journey from first learning how to code to becoming the youngest member of BNY’s technology team. She also reflects on her role as a mentor for Anita B, and the importance of being confident in yourself and your abilities as you navigate gender biases and inequity. Enjoy her story!
Tell us your story. Right now you’re an education mentor at AnitaB.org and you have extensive experience in computer science and coding. How did you get to this point and what was your journey like ? And tell us a little about what you do right now.
Upon graduating from PCM, I didn't have any programming experience, but wanted to learn more about it. I decided to complete a 3-month certi-course in IT, which is offered by our state government in Rajasthan, India. It covered the basics of computer hardware and software. Taking the course solidified my passion for computers and programming. I decided to pursue engineering, but due to some family issues I couldn't. After waiting for around 8 months, I joined an online BCA course at JECRC University. I landed my first internship during my first year of studies. During my second year, I focused more on problem solving and became a mentor at AnitaB.org where I run a group of 6 mentees (both Indians and foreigners). After that, I landed my dream job at BNY Mellon in my third year. I'll be joining BNY Mellon at Pune, India on 8th Aug. Currently, I facilitate 1:1 sessions on Topmate to guide aspiring engineering students. I am also a part of a community on telegram where I share job/internship updates for college students and sometimes provide referrals too.
2. What drew you into coding? How did you realize technology and software engineering is what you wanted to focus your career on? And, what was the first coding language you learned ?
I was very curious about apps and websites, specifically about how they're built and how they work. I researched it and discovered it was all about coding/programming, so I decided to learn about the C language from YouTube. I fell in love with it and decided to be a software developer one day. I learnt Python from an offline coaching center in my first year of engineering school. Then, I started to complete the C language from a book "Let us C" suggested by my teacher.
3. You’ve participated in a lot of coding competitions and have ranked among the top - it’s quite amazing. What did you do differently that helped you rank so high in competitions?
I participated in nearly 10 contests and ranked among top in around 5-6 contests. So the thing is consistent hard work. As I mentioned I was pursuing online BCA, I never attended college. This saved my time and I invested 100% of my time in self-study. The time and energy which is wasted in college, I utilized for my preparation.
Learning how to code can be a really complicated and time consuming skill, what advice would you give to people who are just starting to learn how to code - what is something you wish someone told you on how to approach coding when you first started learning.
I would only say, code along with you learn. I've made this mistake in the past, I used to watch lectures only and rarely coded a logic. This mistake wasted a lot of time because whenever I had to use that logic I needed to rewatch the lecture in order to implement. So, the only advice is always to code when you learn a new topic/concept. The other thing is consistency - we must be consistent inorder to get success in any field, not only coding. Try to explore the tech world as much as possible, make connections on linkedin and learn from others.
4. Did you face any issues with gender bias or inequity? How did you navigate them?
Yes, that is correct, but nowadays many companies have started initiatives to empower women in this field. They're doing special hirings for women via coding tests and hackathons. I also got hired at BNY via a special hiring program named "Code Divas". And yeah, so many people doubted my skills and abilities, I just want to say that they don't know my struggle and only my inherent knowledge of how I got this offer. I know these people are jealous to see me at this position that they couldn't get, so I only ignore them for my peace. I think I don't need to prove or justify myself to anyone.
5. Lastly, do you have general advice for young women who want to enter the tech industry ?
The only advice is focus on yourself, do whatever you love. Never think about others' opinions. This is our life not theirs, so follow your passion. If it's in the tech industry, make sure to select a field which interests you the most and put consistent efforts in it.