ASTANA – Kazakh native Nazerke Seydan's career journey has taken her from Europe to the United States and back to her home country, where she now works for a global IT company. In an interview with Astana Times, Seidan spoke about what inspired him to choose technology as a career path and the challenges he faced along the way.
Nazerke Seidan.Photo credit: Seidan's personal archive
“Various aspects influenced me to choose soft engineering. Firstly, I was looking for a field that required logical and critical thinking and maSH. [an acronym for Making Stuff Happen] With coding. “I chose computer science because I actually had a bit of an interest in physics,” she said.
She studied computer science for four years in Budapest. During that time, she also held internships in Hungary, Japan, and Switzerland, gaining practical experience in the industry. “Computer science is such a broad field that I wanted to explore it,” she added.
Seidan explored areas such as front-end, back-end, and machine learning.
“The most difficult part of my professional journey was knowing where and how to start. Computer science is so broad that I didn't know where to start. “I was looking for a mentor and a guide,” she said.
“Thankfully, in my professional journey, I've met mentors and really good people who helped me get into computer science,” she added.
While searching for a project, I came across the Apache Solr project. It is an open source search platform designed to be highly scalable and handle large amounts of data. “They responded to my email. They called and wanted to talk more about my interest and potential contribution. I was excited. I met a mentor named Smiley who helped me a lot in this learning journey,” she recalled.
The mentor also helped Seidan find a job after graduation. She accepted the offer and moved to France. Since then, she has been working at her Salesforce.
“It's an American company. Their main product is customer relationship management in the public cloud,” she added. “I spent two years in France. Then, within the same team, I moved to New York because I wanted to explore American culture.”
Breaking gender stereotypes
She says it's not difficult to work in technology as a woman.
“But it's more about the environment. When you work in a company where most of your colleagues are men, it's kind of difficult because 80% are men and you're only 20%,” she says. Told.
Globally, gender role stereotypes can prevent girls and women from pursuing their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including IT. These stereotypes, reinforced by societal expectations and, in some cases, the educational system, can bias boys and girls into traditional gender roles.
According to United Nations (UN) data, only 30% of women enrolled in higher education worldwide choose STEM fields. Of these, only 3% choose the information and communication technology (ICT) field. Across Kazakhstan, only 32% of ICT faculty students are women.
IT development in Kazakhstan
Mr. Seidan, who has experience in various countries, spoke positively about the development of IT in his home country.
“We are seeing great improvements in the IT and technology industry. Digital transformation is booming,” she said.
The data shows a positive picture. There are more than 14,000 IT companies in Kazakhstan, and more than 180,000 employees work in the IT industry. Kazakhstan's IT export exceeded $500 million In 2023.
“Currently, the government is focusing on digital transformation in almost all sectors: healthcare, education, the government itself. This is really good because technology is booming and it is the future. “We're heading into the future,” she said.
Kazakhstan's e-government has made more progress than the world's developed economies, and Kazakhstan ranks 28th out of 193 countries on the United Nations e-Government Index.
“Previously we had to submit paper-based documents by mail or in person, but now we can submit documents electronically. Now our lives are easier,” Seidan added.
She also notes the rise of Kazakh startups. Still, she suggested there was one aspect worth considering.
“The potential risks that I see are on the quality and security side, because the focus right now is on developing something, but not on the security side. “What happens once you have credentials and personal data? That's a big question, and we're not focused on that part,” Seidan said.
Seidan is part of digital nomada global community of Kazakh IT professionals.
“[There are] The current number of members is approximately 400. Several projects are underway. We translate content into Kazakh, including AI glossaries, robotics, and competitive programming books from English to Kazakh. In addition, we also have a course series in which we plan courses for schools and universities. Her lectures are on technical topics and soft skills,” she said.
