Reem Halawa
Development Planning Senior Manager
Virgin Mobile UAE - The award-winning Digital telecommunication App in the MENA region (www.virginmobile.ae)
My main involvement is working closely with stakeholders to gather requirements and identify goals, which can then be accurately translated into software developments.
When you are passionately involved in a project, you see it growing as baby; a full journey from ideas on paper, to planning and preparing the requirements, to working on the implementation and solving any blocker/issue that may come around, to see it going LIVE to customers - It just gives the best feeling ever to see that you are part of a project that is valuable to customers.
A highlight of my typical day at work so far includes: - The ability to develop design decisions and project requirements. - Technical assessments on upcoming internal and external projects. - Planning of high-level designs. - Execution and ongoing stability.
My journey started in my last semester in University, I was panicking as I had no clue what I will be doing when I graduate. I started to search for part-time jobs related to my field through Facebook marketplace, I just wanted to know what my Bachelor Degree will gives me in the future. After the research, I started working in a part-time "unpaid" job as a PHP Web Developer, and after 2 weeks I managed to publish my first website for a client and was super proud of it! It gave me the push and the confidence that I needed at that time. After graduation, I already had couple of months of experience as a PHP developer, and the same company hired me for a full time job. I was always aiming HIGH, so started to look for a bigger "well-known" company that I can get a better experience in the field that I loved! And ended up for the biggest e-commerce company in the middle east, started with them as a "Junior developer", kept getting promoted and left the company with a "Software Engineering Manager" title. As my ambitious are always high, I always felt that I can do more and I can do better, so I decided to move on, and found another opportunity and this time in a different country and city (Dubai - UAE). It was a tough journey as a girl in a male environment! As a girl; I always had to prove myself, to prove my point, to prove my idea, but with experience not only in technical, but also personality, and communication wise, I managed to be a big part in this IT community. You always need to listen, by listening you will learn, and once you learn you can achieve! As they always says: Sky is the limit! And I truly believe in that. Life is a journey and it has its ups and downs, but we shouldn't give up! And we should always learn from our mistakes and try again and again until you reach what you wanted, and main importantly is until you are satisfied.
I always wanted to have a farm, and a small home right in front the sea! And to keep working as a consultant to give my experience that I've gained to the people who needs it!
I love to hang out with friends, drinks, board games, road trips, and playing Guitar is my new passion! And I always like to try new things. I always try to keep my laptop away during my free time :)
Happiness is not by chance, but by choice. - Jim Rohn