Dean Reina, Software Application Engineer, Workday

Degree subject Bachelors Degree, Computer Science, Dublin Institute of Technology
Job title Software Application engineer
Employer Workday

Why the tech sector?

I have always been passionate about
technology. when I was in school,
maths and science were my favourite
subjects. As I grew up, I found myself
constantly tinkering with computers
until I was the go-to-guy for any
technical queries. when it came to the
time to choose a field of study on my
university application form, Computer
Science was all I listed.

How did your degree help you land
your current job with Workday?

I studied Computer Science at Dublin
Institute of Technology. It gave me a
solid foundation in general computing
and taught me key skills which I use
daily, such as problem solving, root
cause analysis, and critical thinking. I
also got the opportunity to complete
an internship as part of my studies
which helped me learn what I wanted
from my career and what direction I
wanted to go. when I learnt about
workday, I knew what they had to offer
was what I was looking for, from the
team support to pushing the
boundaries of software development.

What's been one of the biggest
challenges of and what did it teach you
about yourself?

Workday is growing rapidly. when I
joined, I was part of a newly formed
team with six members. Now, there are
over 30! This meant I was expected to
use my initiative from day one, the
scope of my role growing with the
team. This was a huge challenge, but
also a great opportunity. I was given an
equal voice as senior team members,
even being a part of interview panel for
the new hires on my team. my
responsibilities have grown hugely over
the last 12 months; however, I am
continuously given team support. Now
I am mentoring new team members,
providing them with the same support
I have received.

Any advice for other graduates seeking
to work in a similar field?

Technical skills will always develop and
change in programming, so learning
core concepts and soft skills can go a
long way. Graduate development
programmes like The Generation
workday Programme provides you with
the soft skills training needed to hit the
ground running; having this type of
support can really boost your career
and personal development.

How do you hope to see your career
developing over the next few years?

Upon joining workday, I sat with my
manager and discussed my career
aspirations. Since then, he has
been extremely supportive in putting
the steps in place for me to reach my
career goals. Already, I have more
responsibility for developing several
segments of our product, playing a
bigger part in the design and
architecture. I have been given the
opportunity to complete training
courses such as Scrum-master and
now I am taking more of a lead in team
meetings as well as team mentoring.
workday has a truly career-focused
culture and I am look forward to being
a part of that as I take the next step in
my career.