Arianna Blasi, Software Engineer, Facebook

To help current students and recent graduates navigate the world of work, several USI Alumni shared their career paths and career story. Here the story of Arianna Blasi, Software Engineer in Facebook in London (UK). USI Degree: PhD in Informatics, 2022.

How did you start your career?

I first entered Meta platforms (when it was still named Facebook) as a summer intern, and then accepted to extend the offer for a full-time employment. I joined the company officially right after getting my doctoral degree at USI.

Why did you choose a career in Facebook?

I like to work for industries that have impact on millions of people everyday, and where there is enough freedom to experiment with your own ideas.

In your opinion, what are the qualities necessary for a successful career in Facebook?

You surely need to be proactive and independent. You are granted a nice degree of freedom in choosing what to work on, but this also means you are responsible to figure out how to bring and measure the impact on the products you are developing.

What positive aspects and qualities meant most to you during the study programme you attended?

The doctoral studies at USI trained me in developing and communicating novel research ideas, since as PhD students we are consistently assessed during our journey. In particular, my research field was software testing, the same I currently work on.
At USI I also had the possibility to be constantly in contact with international students working in other research fields, as well as being a teaching assistant for several courses. These are all precious opportunities to foster new intuitions and develop your communication skills.