Vive l’Irlande! How Software Developer Sophie Made the Move from France to Dublin
December 18, 2018
It was the Erasmus programme that first brought Sophie from France to Ireland, but post-college she’s now building a career here. A software developer in HubSpot, she tells us about her time in Ireland and her thoughts on the tech scene here.
From Trinity to HubSpot
“I moved here about two and half years ago to do an exchange semester in Trinity College,” Sophie explains. “After college, I got the internship in HubSpot and I now work on the product team here. I love it so much.” Part of a small team of five people, she relishes the opportunity to get hands-on with the product in her day-to-day work. “”We are the full owners of our application. Engineers take part in the decision making, share ideas, and in the end, build it. I really love that.”
But it’s not just the work that makes working in HubSpot so appealing. Sophie also enjoys regular opportunities to socialise with her co-workers. “It’s a very nice company and you really feel they’ve built a community,” she says. “I enjoy seeing my colleagues, and even on the weekend, we go out together a lot. We go for brunch and there are a lot of events in the company too.” Contributing to this vibrant social culture is the diversity of the workforce in HubSpot, something that reflects the tech scene in Dublin and Ireland as a whole. “If you count the whole HubSpot Dublin office we have 41 nationalities,” she says. “In Ireland and Dublin there are all these nationalities working so close to each other and I haven’t seen that anywhere else.”
A Warm Welcome
Outside of work, Sophie points to the welcoming nature of the country as something that’s made her time here all the easier. “A big thing about Ireland is that people are so kind and welcoming and happy in general,” she says. “That was big for me when I first arrived.”
A good work/life balance is also important to her, and she feels that she’s now in a place with a healthy mindset towards employees mental and physical wellbeing. “HubSpot have great benefits like working from home, a flexible culture, fitness reimbursement and free lunches that help you keep a good work/life balance,” she notes.
An Active Tech Scene
Sophie’s experiences in the wider tech scene have been positive too, and she’s already taken advantage of the vibrant meetup culture here. “You can meet so many people working in tech here, so it’s kind of unique,” she says. “Recently, I went to an event in Microsoft for women who code called ‘Codess’ and we have organised meetups in HubSpot too, like TechTalk at Night and ReactJS.” With women increasingly making their presence felt throughout the tech world, Sophie points to HubSpot Director of Engineering, Barbara McCarthy, as someone who has inspired her. “She has been a role model for everyone,” she explains. “Barbara’s empathy goes beyond everything I have ever seen and she always put others first. Seeing such a strong, intelligent engineer in a leadership position has truly paved the way for myself and other young female engineers.”
All in all, Sophie is embracing her time in Ireland, and with a job she loves and a thriving social life, she enthusiastically recommends making the move here. “The tech jobs here in Ireland are amazing and the opportunities are really great,” she says. “I would definitely encourage any international developers who are thinking of it to come over. It is a place that is a good size, so you can kind of walk everywhere, which I really like, and with the meetups, it’s not hard to get to know people. It is super easy to make friends here.”
Interested in Moving to Ireland?
If you’re an international techie who’s thinking of taking the next step in your career, the opportunities here are endless. Check out our Tech Careers page to explore some of the roles on offer right now.