Software Engineer, USAA
Warren, who holds a BS Business Administration degree, works as a front-end developer on a bank feature team at USAA, the financial services company that primarily serves military families. USAA products include insurance, financial planning, banking and other banking-related products. “I am responsible for creating and maintaining the front-end portion of our business software applications including international wires and our Zelle enrollment app,” Warren says. “Our team functions in a fast-paced environment, driving innovation through rapid prototyping and iterative development ensuring quality is built into all solutions.”
What do you do on a daily basis?
Each day, I strive to use best practices, creating beautiful and accessible experiences for our internal and member-facing systems. I engage with business clients, UI (user interface) designers, fellow developers and architects to create high-performing and easy-to-use systems via the web as well as mobile-based applications.
Briefly, tell us how your degree has impacted your career.
Although I now work in the world of software development, I still find value in my business background. At work, we regularly meet with our business clients, and it helps having an understanding of where they are coming from. While we focus on the technical aspect of our features, they are more concerned with things such as success vs fail rates and rollout strategies. I also feel that I benefited greatly from the group projects and presentations that were required in many of my Jindal School business classes. I have to work and communicate daily with teammates, and we oftentimes have to present our new features to the team.
What do you enjoy about your current position/profession?
Working as a software engineer requires a balance of critical thinking, technical skills and creativity. As our world continues to rely on more technology, it is exciting being in a position that enables me to build and maintain useful applications that benefit millions of people around the world. There is never a shortage of new things to learn when developing, and each day brings new challenges.
How do you see your profession changing in the next five or 10 years?
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth unexpected changes to nearly every industry, and I feel things will look quite different in the future. Specifically with tech, I believe working remotely will be as normal as working in the office. Things were slowly trending in that direction prior to the pandemic as developers and many others are able to work productively from home, and this situation has forced companies to see what it takes to operate with a remote workforce. With innovations such as automation, machine learning and AI, in addition to common daily software like websites, web apps and mobile apps, the demand for developers will continue to grow.
What unexpected experience or event has shaped and/or influenced your current professional life?
I often joke that video games accidentally changed my professional life. While playing a game called “Watch Dogs 2” (an open-world game based on hacking), it piqued an undeniable interest in learning what all is possible with technology. Searches about hacking all pointed me to programming which led me to RSVPing for every upcoming coding event in the area in the following weeks. Little did I know that this would lead to a new passion and a complete career change. After spending about eight months learning how to code, I left my job to enroll in a full-time web development boot camp with DevMountain. That led to an internship with Call-Em-All, an automated calling and group texting company. And that brought me to my job at USAA.
What is your favorite UT Dallas memory?
My favorite UT Dallas memories are with my wife, then Krystle Gibbons BS’10. We met in the Comet S.T.A.R.S. program. This peer mentor program is specifically for first-time, first-year students at UT Dallas. First-year or freshmen students are matched with an upperclassman in the same school of study. This program focuses on academic and personal development through mentorship, various workshops and community service projects. Krystle and I dated throughout college, participating together in activities and groups such as the Perpetual Praise Gospel Choir. I proposed to her on graduation day, and we will be celebrating eight years of marriage this year.
What is something you wish you had done while you were in college and why do you wish you had?
I wish I had pursued internships during college, and I would highly recommend internships to current and future students. I was working some evenings and also spending a lot of time on side projects, so I didn’t devote the time to pursuing internships or understand their significance at the time. Internships are an incredible way to gain real-world experience while building up your network. You gain invaluable training and exposure, and you have an opportunity to get an inside look at companies before working there full-time. Many companies hire previous interns, so this is a great way to increase your chances of landing a job after graduating. An internship can be a very beneficial tool when considering the challenging task of landing a job.
What advice do you have for college students hoping to succeed professionally?
Strive to develop meaningful relationships with others. Opportunities will often come through your network of friends and associates. Beyond benefitting from resources within your network, you’ll also improve your quality of life by building memories with others while also being able to help and give back in situations you would have never thought about otherwise.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoy exercising and spending time with my wife and daughter. When I find moments of down time (AKA not chasing our toddler around), I also enjoy watching basketball, playing PS4, or working on side coding projects.
