Menuka Samaranayake

What do you do?

I’m currently located and working in Virginia. My official job title is Software Engineer, and I work for LYT Systems, Inc.

Right now I’m contracted out to the federal government. My job duties are similar to a full-stack web developer. I build applications with Java/Spring on the backend and use Javascript frameworks like Angular on the frontend. I also get a lot of experience with DevOps tasks such as playing around with AWS, Jenkins, etc.

How did you get there?

I took a slightly unconventional approach to get where I am. I first attended UW-Madison and got a double-major in Microbiology and Political Science, and planned out looking for a career as a lab technician. However, my first job out of college wasn’t too fulfilling, and I was disappointed in my career outlook.

So I decided to go back to school. This time I wanted to get a minor/certificate in Computer Science. I always liked the CS classes I took back at WHS, and I thought that it might be a good career move to combine CS and biology together. During this time, I worked in a Microbiology lab as a data scientist, and tried to help contribute to some projects that heavily relied on computational biology using Python and R. I also took some great classes that still influence a lot of the projects I work on today, such as ‘Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction’, ‘Data Structures and Algorithms’, and ‘Introduction to Cryptography’.

After I finished my CS certificate, I started looking for full-time jobs. I really wasn’t hearing back from places I applied to, so I decided that I needed to get more experience as a programmer, and become more confident in my coding abilities. I attended one of those coding boot camps that are popular right now. While they are very controversial in how effective they are, I honestly believe that attending a boot camp was the best career decision I’ve ever made. During that course, I learned tons about web development in general (REST, agile development, etc.) and built plenty of cool projects using Ruby on Rails. I was able to put a lot of stuff that I created in that boot camp on my resume, which helped me get my first full-time CS career.

My first full-time CS job was working as a junior web developer for the Small Business Administration out in D.C. At the SBA, I helped rebuild their existing website using React and Redux, and got experience with popular, modern technologies such as Docker. After that job, I obtained my current one.

What advice do you have for current computer science students?

My favorite part of having a career in computer science is that I basically solve problems for a living. I love that I have the ability and tools to create something that can have an impact somewhere. What I realized when I switched CS from microbiology was that I was having a lot of fun coding/learning. I hadn’t really experienced that before in other subjects; I was going out of my way trying to learn more about some new language/technology/method. If you are passionate about CS, do the same thing. Read articles on Medium, look at new frameworks/languages, etc. There is always more to learn in CS.

To expand on that last paragraph, do CS projects in your free time. Whether it’s learning a new language on Codeacademy, building a smart-mirror with a Raspberry Pi, or creating a smartphone app, any sort of experience that challenges you will be a positive experience. Some of the projects you do in your free time could help make you stand over your peers too!

Also remember to take breaks! People get burned out when working long hours. If I get stuck on a problem for a while I get often get really stressed. Taking a quick break to refresh does wonders for your sanity. I swear that coming back to a problem after a break usually results with myself figuring out the solution almost right away, too.

Contact information:

menuka.samaranayake@gmail.com

Posted December 29, 2018