As a child Divya always wanted to be a doctor, but she had a change of heart when an alumnus came back to her high school to share experience working as a programmer for an international company. At that moment she knew she wanted to be a programmer in a global organization, so she chose to study Computer Science at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL).
“In 2002, which was the last semester of my senior year, one of KMITL alumni who was working at Thomson Reuters, posted in the KMITL students web board that Thomson Reuters was recruiting Software Engineers, so I applied and got accepted. It was a dream come true for me.”
Divya started her career journey at Thomson Reuters as a Software Engineer before being promoted to Senior Software Engineer and Development Group Leader. When a Product Manager post opened up, she applied for the opportunity and got the role. In 2013, the team needed her in London so she relocated and is now working as a Senior Product Manager working with colleagues in New York, London, and Bangkok.
English is one of challenges she had to overcome during her first months in London as Divya never went to an international school so she was concerned if her imperfect English would be a hindrance, especially when most of the people she had to coach or deal with are all native English speakers. However, she later learned that “If you know your product well and can explain the reasons behind your decisions and actions, you will slowly but surely gain respect and trust from the people you work with”
Here are a few tips on career advice from Divya
1.) Know what you want and have a clear picture - You have a much higher chance of success if you can focus on work that contributes to your long term goals
2.) Don’t compare yourself with others - Go at your own pace, and trust that hard work will always pay off.
3.) Always have a question - If you don’t have a question, it probably means you didn’t really pay enough attention.
4.) Go the extra mile - By doing a bit extra every day, you will stand out because not many people are willing to do this. As the old saying goes, luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.