Ep 3. Chase what you love and live it. Life lessons from Technical Lead: Marga López

In this podcast episode, the host Sahil sits down with his good friend, Senior Software Engineer & Technical Lead - Marga López, to talk about her career in tech and the lessons she's learned along the way.

Interestingly, Marga comes from a background in the arts, and she believes in pursuing what you love. Marga's experience highlights the idea that with hard work and dedication, anyone can succeed in the tech industry.

Marga starts by sharing her journey into tech, including her early interest in programming and how she turned that passion into a successful career. Marga shares that continuous learning and improvement are crucial in tech and that asking for feedback from team members can help identify areas for growth. Marga shares how she encourages her team to work collaboratively and to learn from each other's experiences. She believes that a positive and supportive team culture can go a long way in achieving success as a developer.

Throughout the episode, Marga shares her insights and advice for others looking to build a career in tech, including the value of networking and finding a mentor to help guide your career path. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights for anyone interested in pursuing a career in tech or looking to advance their skills as a technical leader.

Recommendations for Learning JavaScript:
30-Day Vanilla JS Coding Challenge
https://javascript30.com/

Guest: Marga López - Technical Lead & Senior Software Engineer.

Connect with Marga López
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marga-l%C3%B3pez-27781684/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marguxi/

The episode covers
(00:00) Introduction - Marga López
(01:45) Marga’s background story, from arts to front-end development.
(05:05) Starting days as UI Developer
(11:25) What inspires Marga to be a better developer
(14:20) Marga’s secret to keep growing
(17:23) Importance of Code Reviews
(19:41) Qualities for a successful developer
(22:39) Lessons learned from the most challenging project
(25:50) Challenges as Technical Lead, work-life balance
(28:51) Summary & Connect with Marga

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction - Marga López
• 1:45 Marga’s background story, from arts to front-end development.
• 5:05 Starting days as UI Developer
• 11:25 What inspires Marga to be a better developer
• 14:20 Marga’s secret to keep growing
• 17:23 Importance of Code Reviews
• 19:41 Qualities for a successful developer
• 22:39 Lessons learned from the most challenging project
• 25:50 Challenges as Technical Lead, work-life balance
• 28:51 Summary & Connect with Marga

Transcript

Preview [Marga]: 

Details are important I believe, also you have to be enthusiastic about what you do. If you love what you do you are gonna smash it, right?

Introduction

[Sahil]:
Stories are powerful, A good story can change a life. With this idea in mind, I am bringing this special episode of “the tech diaries” podcast. My name is Sahil David, I am a full-stack developer based in the UK. Welcome to my podcast - the tech diaries, where we explore developer stories that shape and inspire our technical minds.

I cannot tell you how long I have been waiting for today’s episode. We have a very special guest today, a good friend of mine - Margarida Lopez or as I call her Marga, Marga is currently working as a Technical Lead and a Senior Software Engineer. Marga is based in Valencia Spain. I have had the privilege to work with her for many years.  She has worked on many complex web applications and innovative products. Marga inspires me with her strong work ethic and keen attention to detail. I am very excited about today’s episode and believe that it will provide you with valuable lessons. Thank you for tuning in, and please join me in welcoming our guest for today, Margarida Lopez.

Hello, Welcome to the show Marga, We are super excited to have you here today with us. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us and share your journey.

[Marga]:
Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here.

[Sahil]:
01. Okay, so before we jump into the questions, first I just wanted to ask you about your background story. I want to know how did you become a developer?

[Marga]:
Yes, so I started showing interest in computers really really young. I think I had my first computer when I was 10. I will always play with computers since then, I will play games, also I would try to make websites for the things I like at the time, and yeah that was always there. Since I was a kid I also really liked drawing, so I decided to study Arts when I was in high school, to specialise in that. When I was in University as well. I had to decide, I had an amazing teacher for Art History in the last year, so I decided to follow that path. So I Studied Arts History at university. But yeah once I finished university, I wasn’t clear on what to do. So there were some things I like, but that passion for computers was always there. So at the time, my sister Andrea was interested in development as well. So we decided to start a company together, and we decided to develop WordPress themes, so we started with that. We put ourselves a goal. We wanted to publish the themes on Envato because you know that was amazing at the time. If you were doing WordPress themes you publish on Envato, that’s an amazing achievement right, so we did that. Yeah, once we published it, our current boss Barry found us, and he offered us the job.

[Sahil]:
Wow, okay so hmm, so now I know the secret why you are so good in UI designs. (both laughing). There is a little thing I need to tell everyone, that me and Marga worked together on a number of projects, and whenever I code something I would send it to Marga, and would say okay Marga put your magic on it.

[Marga]:
That’s true.

[Sahil]:
And she would make it beautiful and the UI would look simple and nice. Now I know, that it’s the art influence.

[Marga]:
Yeah maybe.

[Sahil]:
Also, I want to tell our listeners that Marga also mentioned her sister Andrea, which we also need to get on the show. She is also a super developer. So I just want to summarise what you said. So you started when you were 10 years old.

[Marga]:
Yep, that’s correct.

[Sahil]:
And you made your first website then. I would like to see that website.

[Marga]:
I don’t know where it is honestly, yeah those were good times. iFrames were everything you know. The most powerful thing.

[Sahil]:
Oh yeah, iFrames and framesets, I remember those days also

02. So when you started as a developer, or as a UI developer at the time, what was your experience like? Can you tell us about your starting days?

[Marga]:
I mean, once I got the job, I started writing applications with HTML and CSS. The backend was done by the backend team with C#, but yeah we will focus on the frontend part of the application. But yeah also there was JavaScript. So I started using a little bit of JavaScript. Obviously, I had to develop WordPress themes, but honestly, I didn’t have much experience. So yeah that was the time I fell in love with JavaScript. So once I started, I saw that I really liked it. I did a JavaScript course at the time that I recommend which is JavaScript30 by Wes Bos (https://javascript30.com/), and yeah that’s basically a challenge in which every day you do a JavaScript challenge, and yeah I really loved it. You know, every challenge he proposed I was like how is he gonna do that, you basically code along with him, you can try doing it yourself and at the end, you can compare how he does the solution right. So yeah that’s one thing, there were also training sessions, where Senior developers would do training sessions, those were really good and I learnt a lot. I would then after the training session, go through my notes and would ask questions to the presenters, on anything I wasn’t clear about. So yeah that helped as well.

[Sahil]:
Yeah, so there are two key points, I want to highlight here. So first you mentioned a course JavaScript 30 by Wes. I will put the link in the description. I think that’s a really nice way to learn JavaScript because he gives challenges for 30 days and I think each challenge is designed for you to learn different concepts of JavaScript. So anyone who is learning JavaScript, check that out.

[Marga]:
Obviously, there were some seniors in the company, who would do training sessions. Most of them were focused on JavaScript. I would enjoy those a lot as well. After the session, I would analyse them point by point and would write some questions to ask the presenter. So yeah I was quite enthusiastic in that aspect like I would try to analyse the training session properly, yeah I think that was nice as well.

[Sahil]:
I think I can relate to that point because I was also in those training sessions, and I know that Marga would ask lots of questions, so I think there is a little lesson there. We should not take anything for granted in programming right? If you’re stuck at some points ask questions, and ask for help, the best thing is if we learn together. There is no shame in asking questions.

[Marga]:
Yeah Exactly. And yeah that was at the beginning and at some I started you know my boss saw that I was really enthusiastic about JavaScript so I got my first opportunity to work on a Data Visualisation project, and I started playing with Vue JavaScript framework, which is a framework I am specialised in now. But yeah, speaking from the early days, especially since that project I would also get Pull Requests from other seniors, yeah that was something at the beginning that helped a lot as well.

[Sahil]:
Yeah, so that’s Pull Request right, that’s Code Reviews. So are you saying, that when you were learning JavaScript you would analyse senior developer’s code and try to learn from it?

[Marga]:
Yes, but also they would review my code and put lots and lots of questions. You can try this? There were things that I obviously didn’t know so I had to research, so that helped.

[Sahil]:
03. When you were starting as a developer, what was the support in the team like

[Marga]:
As I said, there were seniors, that would help me, all the time when I was stuck, or they would give ideas, and yeah that obviously helped a lot. Also, you know Andrea my sister also joined the company with me. She has been an amazing support all the way through and I can count on her for everything. You know since I had the Arts background, she had more of a math background, so I would ask her maths questions all the time, and yeah I would find support from all of them, yeah that was amazing. And overall I am lucky, I feel lucky because I had a very nice team, not only the team but my boss as well. He has been a great support in my growth as well.

[Sahil]:
Yeah, and I can second that because Marga’s boss, who was my boss at the time as well. His name is Barry Gearing and a big shoutout to him, he is amazing. I think he really helped us grow. He put confidence in us, right? I think that’s very important for a team leader to trust his team and allow them to grow. And It’s such an amazing story for you and Andrea, two sisters starting a company together, starting a job together, it’s amazing (laughs).

[Marga]:
Yeah.

[Sahil]:
04. I know that you really love JavaScript. So would you say that’s your inspiration? What inspires you to become a better developer?

[Marga]: 
Yes, well JavaScript, I am in love with JavaScript. So I feel it’s so powerful and beautiful you know, you can achieve anything on the web right, you can do it with the power of JavaScript, and yeah that inspires me. Also, I really enjoy the part of having days to write JavaScript code. But yeah I also love in general working through a project, from its beginning to its completion. Like when it starts, you have to think about the problem, what you are going to use it, how you can modularise it, and you build it. Obviously, I love the building part, and then when it’s completed, then the bug fixing you also enjoy I would say

[Sahil]:
Ok yeah, I would like to take a minute here because I think you gave us so much knowledge in one sentence. If I summarise this, tell me if I have got this right. You are saying that the beauty of the JavaSciprt is that we can bring all our ideas, anything to life.

[Marga]:
Yeah.

[Sahil]:
And you learn as well, when you take a project from start to finish, right? When you start a project how do you brainstorm, how do you put your ideas down, how do you structure your code, how do you deploy and deliver, so when all these stages come together it’s really exciting for you.

[Marga]:
Yeah, exactly.

[Sahil]:
Yeah, and I think there is a good lesson here, I always say that we should not straight away run into the code. We should not straight away start writing code. So as Marga said everyone who’s listening out there, let’s plan our code first. If we do the planning upfront, it will save us lots of hours of refactoring, later on. 

[Marga]:
Yeah, exactly. As a fun fact, when I have to do the estimation of any project now that we have to build. Most of the time when I have to estimate the project I get excited already! How would you build it? How would you plan it? Even the process, the very first process estimating it, breaking it down, is exciting.

[Sahil]:
Actually, me too. Recently I was working on a project and I broke it down into 89 tasks or something. But now you have a clear picture in front of you, right? You actually know what to build. Any developer can jump in and pick up the project. I think it’s a very important and efficient way of working in product development.

[Marga]:
Yeah.

[Sahil]:
05. Working with you, I know you are very hard-working, and it’s reflected in your growth as a developer. I want to know what’s your secret to keep growing.

[Marga]:
Really, the secret is just practising. I think you mentioned in the previous podcast, that practicing is the key. It’s all about practice really. Obviously in my case, doing projects, project after another project, I would learn something new from each one of them. Probably if I write about the last project I did, I would learn something, like practising is the key I feel. But also you know, when I finish the project I really like asking for a second opinion. Well not really when I finish it, but while I am developing it as well. I might be thinking about the functionality, and if I am not happy with what I am thinking I would ask for a second opinion, because you know it’s easy to just get lost in your thoughts and think this is the good thing to do, but I think if you have doubts it’s better to ask for a second opinion. Also, it’s important that with all that practice, it’s also the key that every line of code you write you should enjoy it. Every bug you fix you have to enjoy it.

[Sahil]:
Exactly, It’s all about enjoying the journey, isn’t it?

[Marga]:
Yeah, exactly.

[Sahil]:
Yeah I agree, that practice is the key. The more you practice, the more confidence you get. You know if you are suffering from confidence issues as a developer, or suffering from imposter syndrome, or if you think you are not good enough, just practice. Just keep writing code, That really is the key.

[Marga]:
Yeah, I think also in my case, I am quite the perfectionist (laughs).

[Sahil]:
Oh! Let me take that away Marga (both laughs). So I have to tell the audience something. Okay, I have suffered (Marga laughs) from this for many years. When we were working together I would send Marga Pull Request to review my code and usually, you know there are one or two comments, but whenever I would send my code review to Marga I would get so many comments, on simple things like indentation (Marga laughs) or Sahil you missed that, this variable should be called that. (Marga laughs). And I think that was just amazing. Because I believe that code reviews and code readability are important. You know any code can run, but I think these are the points that separate the good developers from the best developers. This is so funny, so every time I would send my code to Marga, I was waiting for the comments. What is she going to do now?

05. So do you wanna talk about that, why is code review so important for you?

[Marga]:
Let me add something to that note. I don’t think I have told anyone, but every time I open my own Pull Request, I put comments to myself (both laughs).

Yeah, I mean Pull Requests are fantastic its a good opportunity to learn right, on both sides, When you are reviewing code you can always learn from the person sending the pull request, especially if you are Junior, I would encourage junior developers to review senior developer’s code, because you will learn a lot. But also if you are being reviewed, you might learn from the comments from the reviewer, so it’s a fantastic opportunity to learn. Yeah, I mean everyone has their own style of writing code. In my case, I work in a company right, I think it’s important that the comments are genuine at the same time. So yeah, it’s a good opportunity as well to make sure that the team is following the best practices and code quality. I think it’s one of the keys to making sure that the code you write, is easy to understand by other developers if they pick your code, and I always say that in Pull request you don’t have to dive too much into the logic, it’s not to try to understand every line of code written, it’s just quick skim, just make sure you follow best practices, quick tips. Sometimes you want to ask questions, as there are no right or wrong answers sometimes right? So yeah sometimes I just ask questions,

[Sahil]:
One thing I would like to add is that there is this book “Software Engineering at Google, lessons learned over Time” (https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/software-engineering-at/9781492082781/), there is a whole chapter dedicated to Code Reviews, I think that’s the only book I found that has a whole chapter dedicated to Code Reviews. It stresses how important code reviews are, and how you can motivate and learn from each other’s comments.

06. We have often talked about how important code readability is, and how important it is to write simple and maintainable code for large applications. According to you what are the most important skills that a successful or a good developer should have?

[Marga]:
Well, yeah obviously - patience. Patience is key. It’s going to be a long journey, there are so many things to learn, especially in development there are so many frameworks. No matter which path you choose, there are so many things to learn. So yeah, make sure you dedicate enough time to everything. To learn everything in time, don’t rush things, and yeah I am pretty sure it’s going to be very enjoyable. So that’s one thing. Also, I feel details matters, so in my case, I have always tried to pay attention to details right, and make sure when you do things make sure that’s the best thing you can do. Don’t miss anything, details are important I believe. Also, you have to be enthusiastic about what you do. Like if you love what you do, you are going to smash it, right? So yeah, and obviously as I said there are so many things to learn. Keeping up to date is the key I believe. Also, I would say something, I am lucky, that in my team there is no ego. I believe you should always be willing to learn from other people like the people that surround you. You are going to learn a lot of things from them. So yeah make sure that you accept advice and tips from these people that are learning with you.

[Sahil]:
Again, that paragraph is full of wisdom (both laughs). Let me try to break it down actually. I think the one point you said that I really liked was - to pay attention to the details. It is the small things that matter, doesn’t it? And I loved what you said, if you love what you do, you are going to smash it. Yeah, when you give it your everything, you are going to be very good, and I think in the process of learning and especially in the team, there shouldn’t be room for ego - you know. I think we were very lucky when I was working with you, in our team everyone was so willing and helpful. Even when I started as a Junior developer, I remember the support of the senior devs and Barry our manager. We all grew together, if we work something together we will go. Some good advice for our listeners there. So Thank you for that!

[Marga]:
Thank you!

[Sahil]:
07. Now I wanted to take the conversation to the project, that we worked on together.

We cannot name the project or share any specific details, but I am sure we can share some learnings that would benefit our listeners. Just to give everyone a bit of background, when I and Marga were working together, we were faced with an impossible challenge - which seemed impossible at the time, and in order to deliver the projects we need some innovation, some out-of-the-box thinking, and after so many brainstorming sessions, after going through so many ideas we came across a risky idea. I remember it was very risky to even dare at the time. We took our idea to our manager Barry, and he showed confidence in us again. As I always say, an Idea on its own is just an idea, but an idea with a direction is a really powerful thing, and I believe he gave us that direction right. So I just wanted to talk to you about, what was your experience working on the project like.

[Marga]:
It was amazing. It’s one of my most treasured experiences as a developer. It’s what you said, obviously, we had a very big challenge, maybe a very tight deadline as well (both laughing).

[Sahil]:
Very tight deadline. I need to stress, a very tight deadline (both laughing).

[Marga]:
So yeah it was something I wasn’t used to. I had to learn something new, right because yeah I was not used to the technologies we were proposing. I was not used to working on the technologies we proposed. It was something new for me, and obviously, it was challenging. But in the end, we made it. It was amazing the whole process. So the fact that I was working very closely with you, because up until this point obviously we would chat every day at work but yeah in that specific project, as you said we would sit for hours, talking about how would we do that, and you know any idea was a good idea. We would say everything we thought, we would question the other. I think it ends up being an amazing project and product. It’s a whole experience like new things to learn and working so closely with you was amazing.

[Sahil]:
Yeah, I would say the lesson learned was that communication is the key, isn’t it

[Marga]:
Yeah.

[Sahil]:
And the importance of planning upfront before starting to code was so crucial. And we didn’t have any design or branding (Marga laughs) or anything. And I think that was also very proactive of us to you know to try to shape it as a product rather than as a project.

08. So moving on, I wanted to ask you that now you have joined a Senior role. How is it going for you? What are some of the challenges and/or personal values that help you grow in this journey?

Now, I am the technical lead, I have to take more proactive steps than before. I have to take care of the team, Well we all take care of each other, again amazing team. In my day-to-day something, I have to improve myself, because as a senior I have to manage my day-to-day, when I started in the company I would get my task for the day, and like you do a ticket and you move on to the next one. But now I have to plan my day, so that’s something new, but yeah it’s all going well.

[Sahil]:
So you really mentioned time management skills there, which I struggle with as well (both laughs), you try to do so many things and I think it’s very important to prioritise things and have good time management in place.

[Marga]:
Yes.

[Sahil]:
09: So there must be a lot of responsibility on you. Now you leading the team, doing all the code reviews and I am sure working on many exciting projects and coming up with new ideas. How do you maintain a work-life balance?

[Marga]:
Well, I am easy, I wake up every morning and do my cup of coffee, and then start working. I spend the first hour of the day trying to do admin stuff, and then most of the day in meeting and writing code. After work, I am easy, I switch off and do what I like, normally playing games. Yeah, I am easy. See the family. I save my time for work and you know save my time for the thing I like.

[Sahil]:
Yeah, and I think that I noticed about you as well. You have a very strong work ethic, but you are also clear on the boundaries, right? The weekend is for the family, and I think that recharges you to do better work.

[Marga]:
Yeah, I mean I have to sometime work on the weekends, but yeah I try to keep work hours and enjoy life let’s say!

[Sahil]:
Because like you say, we need to enjoy every line of code we write.

[Marga]:
Yep, exactly.

[Sahil]:
10. So at last where can people find you, if they want to connect with you?

[Marga]:
Well, you can find me on Instagram, probably it’s easier to write my username. But yeah you can find me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marga-l%C3%B3pez-27781684/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/marguxi/). I am happy to receive any questions or anything you want to talk about.

[Sahil]:
So I will share Marga’s details in the podcast notes, and if you want me to ask her any questions, please let me know, and I will be happy to let her know.

Final Greetings

[Sahil]:
I just wanted to say that Marga you have done so well. From working with you, as a friend as well, you have started as a UI Developer, and you have owned the role, projects and products. You have shaped the company’s directions and now you are leading the team. So whatever you are doing keep doing. And like you said Chase what you love and you will smash it. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for taking the time, it’s been amazing talking to you, there’s lots of wisdom and lessons you have shared and I am sure our listeners would benefit from it. So thank you for sharing your experiences.

[Marga]:
Thank you, it was amazing to be here.

Conclusion

[Sahil]: 
Isn't she just amazing? I hope you also enjoyed the episode, as much as I did. 

Thank you so much for listening. If you loved the episode and feel like it brought you value don’t forget to rate the show and leave a review, it really inspires me and helps the show grow, so I can keep bringing technical content for you. If you want to follow me behind the scenes, you can find me on Instagram @sahildavid.dev. Don’t forget to hit subscribe so you don’t miss an update. I drop a new episode on the 15th of every month. Come join me every month where we explore the exciting world of software engineering.

This is me - Sahil David signing off. Lots of love and light to you, and remember love what you do, and you are going to smash it.