Building in Tech: Confidence isn’t given. It’s built.
In our "Building in Tech" series, we bring together faces from across the T4 team: from light yet meaningful interviews with individuals to collective perspectives through surveys with multiple experts. Each article explores career journeys, personal growth, and key topics shaping today’s tech landscape from different angles within our company. By combining personal stories with expert insights, we aim to inspire others to explore a path in technology, even when the journey comes with its challenges.
Kicking off the series, we introduce Katarína, our Backend Developer, who shares her journey into tech and what continues to drive her growth in the field.
You’ve been at Touch4IT for three years and in tech for nine years. How do you remember your beginnings?
In high school, I had a great teacher in Information Technology, and it was one of my favorite subjects. I really enjoyed it and also attended an after-school club. I remember, for example, programming our own drawing app and even the game Sokoban. (smile) So tech was one of the options I considered when choosing a university. And that's how I ended up at the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava.
Did you perceive that you were entering an industry where men dominate, and how did you feel about it?
Honestly, I didn’t deal with this fact at all. At university, there were far fewer girls than boys, but I didn’t perceive it as unusual, nor did I feel uncomfortable or disadvantaged because of it.
Where do you see the biggest differences between your first year at the company and today? (Team functioning, work-life balance, education, …)
My team is great, we cooperate well, and over time we’ve gotten to know each other better. I feel that I have their full support.
Work-life balance is still a topic for me, but from a time-management perspective. I’ve probably struggled with that my whole life. When I think about it, logically it seems that I should have plenty of time, yet I still feel like I don’t manage to get everything done, and I’m constantly chasing something.
What does career progress mean to you as a woman in tech? Is it rather a new position, a finished project, newly acquired skills, or the moment when you say “OK, I’m in the right place and I feel useful here”?
Learning new skills. When I learn something new, I manage to do it well and can also apply it further.
What did or should your personal development in tech companies look like? If you were sitting for coffee today with a woman who is thinking about working in tech but doubts herself, what would you tell her from your own experience?
I doubt myself even now! (smile) But not because I’m a woman or because I work in tech. Some people are naturally confident; others have to consciously build it. And everyone needs to work on themselves, whether in professional or personal development. When facing doubts, having a team and an environment where you feel supported and where there are opportunities also makes a big difference.
What do you enjoy most about working in tech?
Looking for solutions, logic, and problem-solving.
What do you consider your biggest personal challenge in tech?
Gaining deep knowledge of technologies.
