To emphasize the importance of knowing English in the tech world, we met with Voxy's Engineering Manager, Icaro Seara, who manages more than 12 engineering teams in Brazil, USA and Russia.
How did your career path as a software engineer begin? I started my career in software engineering in 2008, after completing my bachelor's degree in computer science. At that time, I was selected for an intensive software engineering training program called "Microsoft Students to Business". That opportunity helped me understand how to apply the computer science concepts I was studying in college to solve real-world problems. Upon completion of the program, I was hired for an internship at an enterprise software company.Briefly describe your role and tell us how your position helps Voxy meet its goals as a company.I am a software engineering manager at Voxy. My primary responsibilities are to lead architecture decisions to help our product succeed not only today, but also to create the software foundation to support Voxy's future growth. In addition, I work closely with engineering team members and guide them to achieve their career goals at Voxy.as a manager overseeing multi-regional teams,
Why do you think English is important for a career in the technology sector? Learning English is essential for success in software engineering. To keep up with the latest innovations, it is essential to be able to understand and speak one of the most widely used languages in the world, English. Coincidentally, a question I'm often asked about a career in engineering is "what area should I focus on to succeed in software engineering? And I always answer the same thing: "If you don't speak the universal language of technology, which is English, then you should focus on that before you dive into technology trends." [Icaro adds that, from there, teams can focus on getting certifications, which are usually offered in English and help them keep up with industry regulations, and preparing presentations to share knowledge.]
What advice would you give to other managers who have to lead and communicate with global teams? Managing a global technology team is not an easy task. In my experience, the biggest challenge in managing global teams is communication. Each country has different ways of communicating. Managers also need to be aware that there are different cultural norms that can affect communication. Also, when working with a global team, you need to be able to understand different accents. Another major challenge in managing a global team is time zones, which make communication even more difficult. Therefore, when it comes to communication, it is better to have too much than too little. In addition, it is preferable to avoid having private conversations when making project decisions and to publicly document decision considerations whenever possible. This allows all team members to always have access to the same information.
What professional challenges did you face before mastering English? In this industry, keeping up with the latest innovations is not only necessary, but expected. Before I mastered English, I used to wait until content was translated into my native language to access information on the latest trends, which usually took months. Therefore, I was always lagging behind engineers who had a good command of English. Moreover, when I finally had access to the information, it was no longer relevant or was replaced by a new technique, which left me a step behind those who had access to the information first.
What opportunities did English give you that you wouldn't have had otherwise? English gave me the opportunity to interact with the best talent in the world. Eventually, you get to a point where you can't reach those people without speaking the world language. I think talent is very widespread all over the world, so being able to interact with these talented people in the same language allows you to gain knowledge from the best minds in the field.Before Voxy,
Have you ever been part of a team where the lack of English will create communication problems? I'm sure it has happened to me. To be honest, communication problems are one of the biggest challenges I have faced because of not knowing English. There is a reason behind this. Technical concepts are hard to explain, and it's even harder when you don't communicate properly in a certain language. That's why being comprehensible is a soft skill that is just as important as hard skills.
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