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👋 About Me + Working in Fintech FAQs

3 things about me

  • Software Engineer at Bank of America Derivatives Trading - landed the position as part of the Full-Time Technology Analyst Program (TAP) from GHC 2022
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    Would suggest volunteering or getting a grant to attend GHC: https://ghc.anitab.org/
  • Completed Undergraduate 🌽  studies in Computer Science + Advertising at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May 2023
  • Refer to my LinkedIn for more about my experiences here

What do you do at Bank of America?

  • Derivatives Trading: Developing Software for Regulatory Reporting with Quartz - think of it as Python and Java had a baby
  • If you went to UIUC and took CS225 - think of it as developing functions for an MP except you make up the logic from information given by Business Analysts and not by GCE or Brad Soloman
  • Side Quests:
    • Girls Who Code Mentoring
    • Global Technology Interns Code A Thon Mentor + Workshop Presenter
    • Tech Talks on Certain Systems to NJ + Chicago Teams
    • Convincing my manager to get Team Patagonias :)

How did you get the job?

  • I vibed with the senior technology manager at the Grace Hopper Conference and we spent more time talking about leadership books than software
  • The interviewer complimented my dress and I am known as to her “the girl with the pretty blue, green, and white patterned dress” - my wardrobe is only flower patterned dresses or custom-designed dresses + skirts made in my motherland of Poland by Tatry Mountains
  • Followed up with interviewer after GHC + connected with her on Linkedin
  • Ran on the heels of a BofA recruiter 2 weeks later as I had a competing offer - when I landed in Pittsburgh the night before my PNC Tech final interview onsite, got the call from a BofA recruiter I got the job 😊

What’s it like working in FinTech?

  • As my manager once told me - You go to school to learn HOW to learn.
    • I love learning daily 😊
  • Learn your OOP + Data Structures + Algorithms VERY well in school - trading is complex systems and algorithms at the end of the day
  • Algorithms and writing pseudocode are important skills to have as you do this on a daily
  • You’re hand-holded in school with pretty documentation; corporate documentation is very vague and lack detail. My goal is to change that at work xD
  • Know how to communicate - you work with Non-Tech Stake Holders Daily
  • Came in with no finance knowledge, you learn on the job
  • I live in Chicago and make 6 figures. Might not be like 200K as Amazon New Grad but hey, 6 figures is good for me for to buy an electric car with my own funds :)
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YouTubers: Graham Stephan and Robert Kiyosaki

What do you wear to the office?

  • Business casual clothing. Nothing too fancy
  • My Top Picks
    • Patagonia
    • Lululemon
    • APL shoes
    • Company t-shirt or solid-colored t-shirt

What are the hard lessons you learned at work?

  • Work friends are NOT your real friends outside of work UNLESS you have their personal number. Once you leave that company and they never reach out to you again, that’s when you realize the harsh reality.
  • It’s ok to have work friends and is important to have them for your sanity
  • Set boundaries between work friends, personal friends, and colleagues in the workplace
  • Everything you say will be used against you if someone wants to cause you harm, document every single thing
  • Don’t work harder than your Team Manager or Senior Devs - they are the ones getting all the recognition you do for the team at the end of the day
  • Don't just work hard just to get publicly thanked by the Team Manager at an all-hands call. That’s depressing. Work hard for promotion or elevate your career
  • Always ask for permission first - you will piss SO many people off if you ask for forgiveness first without permission
  • Learn how to milk work benefits and program - leverage HR and make a work bestie in HR so you can slide to their Skype DMs ANYTIME
  • People like it when you send calendar invites and emails since we all are busy these days
  • Get involved and attend those corporate events. Be very cautious if you plan to get involved in taking the lead of a committee - remember, team objectives come first, other priorities if time permits
  • Overcommunicate everything
    • I have one work bestie who is a senior dev I will tell him my updates every morning and afternoon to keep me accountable. Also, go to for developer advice
    • I always email my team when I am OOO or stepping out in both email + our team group channel
    • For every 1-1 I do with my manager, my agenda is the same for our 30-minute monthly calls:
      • What I accomplished
      • What problems have I noticed on the team and how can we fix
      • Career or personal advice like restrictions since we work in trading
  • No one cares exactly why you are OOO or stepping out, be vague. But also no one needs to know you have an appt for 2 hours to buy a Tesla. The more vague, the better
    • My emails are always “Date - OOO for Personal Day <eom>” or something along those lines

I love your experience - can we do a coffee chat and give me a referral?

  • As much as I love to personally help everyone, I need to recover as I got very burnt out with past initiatives doing high-level things with co-directing conferences and creating non-profit initiatives. Currently doing major side projects at work that keep me VERY busy these days.
  • I am VERY busy at work with GOLIVE preparations and either work very early or very late in order to talk to my personal friends overseas - I have a custom world clock of certain cities on my iPhone and have a time frame when I usually chat with my overseas friends - especially those in Mumbai and London
  • Outside of work, I do passion projects and non-work-related stuff like college consulting for friends
  • Only contact me on Linkedin if you have questions. Please send me a personalized note if you want to connect or else I will reject your connection to request
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If I see genuine potential in you, then I will gladly refer you to both campus hiring and contractor companies BofA sources devs from

Got A Referral From Me - What’s Next?

  • Congrats on your referral and being one step closer to selling your soul to Corporate America! Here is what to expect:
    • The referral will go through both the internal campus referral for Bank of America and be sent to our Contracting Companies Dexian and TEKsystems
    • Contracting Company recruiters will reach out if they see your resume as a fit then talk about the next steps
    • Bank of America - look at their website for job portals
  • I would suggest going through Glassdoor and Reddit for advice with interviews

What books + videos helped you get to where you are

  • To be blunt, people are lazy and claim they don't have the time to read a book but in reality, they do so here are summaries of the books I recommend
    • Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
    • Super Learning by Peter Hollins
    • Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
  • Youtube Channels
    • Krian Bearney - to understand what corporate America is like
    • Graham Stephan - financial tips and don't spend $5 coffee
    • 60 minutes - interesting interviews and global news

Any Relevant Links To Share With Me?

Love Your Website - How Did You Make It?

Do You Plan To Go Back To Grad School?

  • Maybe if tuition is cheap or free like it was for me at undergrad. Besides, I have a BS in CS + Advertising which employers see CS in the name

If I do plan to go to grad, see my reasons here

💻Why UIUC MCS for FinTech?

Can We Connect?

Sure - only on Linkedin :)

Mocha Chats ☕

  • I will not do coffee chats but am open to doing 15-minute Mocha Chats to talk all things coffee during the weekday on my lunch break on select days :)
  • The motive for this is I am against coffee chats as past experiences tell me that it’s all about telling life stories on how they got into X company and expecting me to give referrals in the end - I do not value this or my time. Mocha Chats is where we dive into a specific topic for 15 minutes it makes a good use of my time.

During my Mocha Chats, I write a guide on a specific topic that people want to talk about during the calls that benefits not only our discussions but also those wishing to learn about my background

☕ Mocha Chat Series

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UIUC Research Park Recruiting Advice: bit.ly/rp-guide22

Grace Hopper Conference FAQsUIUC CS + Advertising FAQsMy Top Resume Advice

Thanks for taking a scroll - let’s chat 💬 (on Linkedin of course)