For the past 15 years, there has been a perception that programmers are only men. The profession is considered very difficult, but also very profitable, and the mathematical and logical abilities of women somehow remain neglected.

Fortunately, nowadays, in the last 3-4 years, we are increasingly starting to see women who like programming and want to develop themselves in this direction. And team managers are also starting to become more open to women's skills.

At our company, we also strive to be open to everything new and diverse. On how women programmers handle this so-called male profession, we are talking with Iliana Stoeva – the first female programmer on the Eurocoders team.

1. Hello, Iliana. How did you start to like programming?

Hello. I had the motivation to start and grow my own business, and for this purpose, I needed a website. Due to the lack of sufficient resources to hire a company to develop the said website and enough free time, I decided to start learning about the matter of developing websites, and subsequently became interested in it and started to develop myself in this direction.

2. What is your favorite language you like to program in?

I mainly focused on web programming languages, mostly using PHP.

3. Programming is still considered a male profession. What do you think about that?

Historically speaking, the first programmers are women. The percentage of female programmers in this field was higher than that of men because the female brain is arranged in a way that made it easier to assimilate the logic used at the time.

4. Tell us more about your work. What is your favorite moment in a project?

What I like most about starting a new project is when I begin thinking about the project structure and the technologies I can use to develop it.

5. Which of the latest programming innovations do you like most?

The innovations in this field are very dynamic and it is difficult to have only one favorite. Rather, you have to develop yourself in all directions in order to be up-to-date and good enough in what you do.

6. Tell us about your favorite project.

I work on new projects with the greatest desire when they involve the use of new technologies. This is when I feel most satisfied with my work and results. Such was the project for the development of the website kuhnia.bg.

7. How do you handle the difficulties you face while programming?

A person has no way of knowing and understanding everything, and that’s why sometimes I ask colleagues for advice. In addition, I often enroll in online courses for subjects that I have not mastered yet.

8. Do you think the fact that you are a woman helped your work? Does it damage it?

In most cases, women programmers are undervalued, and this acts as a demotivator, especially when some men programmers want to replace them with a sofa. (laughing)

9. In your opinion, what will be the role of the programmer in 5 years?

Even as technology advances, there will always be a need for human logic, so this profession will not soon disappear.

10. What does your perfect workday look like?

The perfect working day for me is when everything works out with ease, I have clearly set tasks, and when I manage to work well with my colleagues because working in a team is much more enjoyable.

11. What is your role in the Eurocoders team?

In addition to working on new projects our company works on, I maintain not a small portion of our clients' websites, and I make sure that their performance is convenient for their users. And as well to show my fellow-men colleagues that female programmers are even more responsible than they are and can also do the job in a professional way.