Psychology, Design, and Code Come Together In Karina Chow

Just two years out of school with a bachelors degree in Computer Science and Human-Computer interactions from Carnegie Mellon University, Karina Chow is already doing what she loves. Woking as a software engineer for Yammer, Inc.,
owned by Microsoft, she is able to use her passion for social science combined with her aptitude for computer programming, to help create an internal analytics platform that is already being used by over 8,000 Microsoft employees in an effort to make the company more data-driven.

Karina had a uniquely tech oriented childhood. Growing up in Silicon Valley, she was surrounded by people who were employed by companies like IBM, Adobe, Google and Microsoft, and she would hear them talk about the cool projects they were working on at block parties. That sparked her interest in software engineering. However her own personal inclinations were better suited to design, and psychology, leading her to a personal conflict that would eventually have to be resolved.

Upon graduating high school she was accepted by the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University where she studied computer science. It was there that she discovered the field of human-computer interactions, which stands at the cutting edge of sociological analysis and theory. This finally allowed her to make use of her full skill set, working programmatically to collect and sort data, then interpreting its meaning according to human values. She also found time to intern at top name companies like Adobe, Experian, and then Yammer.

While she enjoyed the esoteric pursuits of academia, Karina had a fiercely pragmatic side that yearned to be out in the real world where she could have a greater impact, and also start earning a salary to help pay off her considerable student loans. Here she ran into some resistance from women at the university, who were pursuing their PhD’s, and didn’t respect her decision to apply her degree in the field of software engineering. However the support she got from people she met at groups like Women Who Code balanced that out, giving her the confidence to pursue her goals.

Through her internship at Yammer she was able to secure a position with Microsoft Inc., where she has been a software engineer for the past two years working on an internal analytics platform called Avocado. It currently has over 8000 users, and it helps to empower Microsofties, who are used to shrink-wrap software and expert opinions, to analyze the data for themselves and see what’s really going on. She also has an exciting side project that she started with a high school friend, that seeks to help groups travel more seamlessly using collaborative communication channels.

Karina Chow enjoys giving back to the community by helping to mentor new-hires at her job, and speaking to high school students about what it is like to be a software engineer. She is also a member of the Carnegie Mellon Alumni Counsel, which interviews, and is interviewed by students who are interested in the college.

While she is happy with the work she is doing, Karina still has her eyes set on the future. A career as a software engineer suits her well, but she would eventually like to be able to work for a smaller company, where she could have a greater impact, and more of a leadership role. When asked what advice she had for women looking to develop a career in the tech industry, she replied with the following simple, but powerful piece of code.

describe in_life do
let(:people) { help(you) }
but(people).should_not eql(git you -down)
end

Follow Karina Chow on Twitter.

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