Finding her fit: Marina’s pivot to tech
If you asked Marina, now a senior associate software engineer, a few years ago where she thought she’d end up, software engineering might have been low on the list. At the time, she was in college studying biology and chemistry. From pipetting to studying the periodic table, she was laser-focused on a pre-med path. But in the background, there was a quiet interest in tech that had been there since childhood.
In middle school, Marina tinkered with her mom’s iPad, watching tutorials to re-program tablets to improve the factory software. By high school, she was spending her free time experimenting with small, programmable computer boards to build her own hardware projects and explore how tech worked from the inside out.
For years, Marina treated these two worlds as separate: the science she studied and the technology she loved. But as she neared the end of her degree, she realized that the problem-solving logic she used in the lab was the same curiosity required to build great software. She didn't need to choose between her background and her passion—she just needed a bridge to connect them.
The courage to try something new
Marina’s path toward medicine was shaped by the prestige of being a doctor. But as she got deeper into her years studying biology and chemistry, she began to reflect on the life she was actually building for herself. She realized that while she loved science, the prospect of another decade in medical school didn't align with the future she envisioned for herself.
“I had a moment of reflection, and I realized it was okay to pivot,” she said. “I had to sit down with myself and be honest about what I really wanted.”
After some soul searching, she decided to pursue an MBA. It was during the final stretch of her graduate program that the bridge she’d been looking for—the one that would connect her love of science and technology—finally appeared. She stumbled upon a blog post from a former pre-med student who had transitioned into a tech career at Capital One.
Seeing her own journey reflected made everything click.
She quickly applied to Capital One, eventually accepting an offer to start a software engineering program for those with non-tech backgrounds. Even without coding experience, she brought an open mind and eagerness to learn. “It was a steep mountain to climb, but having mentors who were truly invested in my growth from day one made all the difference.”
Trading pre-med for production releases
After completing the immersive training, Marina joined the Technology Development Program. While most associates in this development program cycle through two different teams to gain broad experience, Marina found such a strong fit with her first team in Bank Tech that she’s still with them today.
Her team’s work in bank modernization helps create systems that allow new products to be developed faster and stay adaptable to address customer needs. Think of it like building with puzzle pieces: instead of handing customers a one-size-fits-all product, the right features can be quickly snapped together to actually fit their lives and flex as their needs change.
For Marina, the impact of the work she does every day feels real when she looks at how these tools change the customer experience.
“I went from not knowing how to turn on a terminal to leading projects and seeing my own code in high-grade production apps,” Marina said. “It’s nerve-wracking, but it’s incredibly gratifying to know that the logic I’m writing actually helps a customer take the next right step.”
Built on belonging: Why the culture makes the difference
In her days in the lab, Marina learned that 100 experiments might flop before one succeeds—a lesson in persistence she now applies to debugging complex code. At Capital One, she found a culture that doesn’t just tolerate that process, but encourages it. “You have to be able to learn here, and you have to be able to be flexible," she says. "Capital One is at the top of innovation, so you have to be sharp.”
Marina credits her successful career pivot to an environment that allows her to be her most authentic self while providing a platform to truly own her growth. She doesn’t navigate the technical mountain alone. Instead, she leans into a culture where mentorship and teamwork are the standard.
When her team transitioned from Python and AWS into developing in Golang—a language new to every developer on the squad—they didn’t just learn a new skill, they solved the challenge together. For Marina, that collective support is what separates a job from a career. “It really feels like people at Capital One want to see you succeed,” she says. “They don’t just say it. They show it.”
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