I'm a Microsoft Software Engineer- I've worked on Xbox, Paint 3D and now Cortana: AMA

Holly is a multi-award-winning Microsoft Software Engineer who has worked on multiple globally released products including Paint 3D and Xbox, and now works on Cortana for Windows. Code she has written is currently on over 800 million devices world-wide!

Between developing applications, she an active advocate for diversity and inclusion for women in STEM. She is on the Technical Women at Microsoft board and works with the Microsoft DigiGirlz team and external organizations like Code First: Girls and the STEMettes to empower women and help others realize their full-potential.

She grew up in the Seattle area before moving to England five years ago to study Computing and Information Technology, consisting of a mix of computer science and business classes, at the University of Surrey.

Ask her (almost!) anything by replying below!

(edited 4 years ago)

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Reply 1

Ikeo

What advice would you have for someone who is new to this and is wanting to follow in your footsteps?

How many lines of code have you written overall? {estimate}

What languages do you know?

What paradigms do you use?

Reply 2

Deyesy

Are women represented well enough in video games and how do feel about the way they are portrayed?

Reply 3

cullen454545454

Original post by Holly TSR

can you please get an Xbox 1 s controller as i have no money for anew one so my Xbox is useless

Reply 4

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

What do you do to wind down? :smile:

Reply 5

vid cant sing

What the hell why does XBOX have no games? Also why it run so slow and why do I have to go through so many menus to do basic thing?

On a more serious note, why does Microsoft still use resources on Cortana when they have publicly deemed it to be a failure?

Reply 6

shadowdweller

Volunteer Section Leader

What has your experience been like as a woman in STEM?

What is the workplace culture like at Microsoft?

Why Microsoft over any other company?

(P.S. Also a woman in CompSci :five:

)

Reply 7

FairyTail101

Prior to working at Microsoft, what experience did you have?

What did you present in the interview that convinced them that you would be a good fit for the team?

Reply 8

StrawberryDreams

What would you say to young women who are interested in a career in Software Engineering?

Reply 9

Confffffffused

what time do you wake up and go to sleep?

Reply 10

The RAR

How much time should I spend on programming to become a software engineer? Is it necessary to know every programming language out there? I am learning Python currently

Reply 11

Confffffffused

what do you do during your free time?

do you ever get bored?

Reply 12

RichPiana

How long did it take you to fix that error in line 237 of your code?
Also, how many times have you forgotten to put the ; on the end of a line? (Unless you code in python)

Reply 13

Neilos

Who do I have to write to/email (I'll do it every day until they get bored and give in) to get them to put the games from Windows 7 onto Windows 10? Proper old-fashioned Minesweeper, FreeCell, and suchlike. The 10 games are polished turds.

(I've got the 7 games, but I'd rather they just released them officially and put them on as standard so I didn't have to mess around and fear every update that might disable them).

Reply 14

Fazzy_77

Any advice for someone who is applying to do computer science at uni, with minimum previous experience of computing?
What is the most exciting part of your job?