Dona Sarkar is an Engineering Lead for Microsoft’s HoloLens, a fashion designer, blogger and author of several books. We talk to Dona about her career in technology and how following your interests on the side can enhance your career.
Dona compares learning to coding to learning a new language, it takes time. We discuss online resources to start learning new skills, and the massive opportunity to build products for the 5 billion people who are currently underserved in the markets. “We keep going after the same 2 billion people over and over again in tech, but why, lets go after 5 billion.”
Growing up in Detroit, Dona didn’t have a lot of money or resources, so she made up her own stories and characters. Dona talks about how writing and the benefits of growing up with a need to constantly use her own creativity to entertain herself. Dona says “when you don’t have very much, consider it your superpower”. Dona also explain how a lack of resources can help you understand the 5 billion undeserved people in the market today.
Topics discussed In this show:
- Tips for getting started in technology
- Coding is just building things for people and how not to be scared when trying to learn technical skills
- If you don’t succeed at something, Dona suggests “do it again!”
- Resources to learn new skills (skillfeed, udemy, youtube, Lynda, codeacademy)
- Dona’s time management secret
- Dona talks about her book on eating disorders in minority women
- We talk about the opportunity to make products for 5 billion people
- How growing up with less can be your superpower
- Dona’s philosophy on staying away from non believers and negativity
We also speak with Brianne Perleberg, the founder of I want her job, about how the website was founded, and a lot more!
