Her Story
About Sheetal
Sheetal Jain is a software developer and master's student pursuing a degree in computer science at the University at Buffalo, with an expected graduation in May 2027. She began her professional career around 2022 and accumulated approximately four years of experience, including 2.5 to 3 years of full-time work as a software developer before starting her master's program in January 2026. Her background centers on traditional software engineering, with a growing focus on machine learning and agentic engineering to expand her expertise in AI. Sheetal earned her bachelor's degree in computer science in 2023. She has received recognition as a React India Conference Scholar in 2022 and a Grace Hopper Celebration Scholar in 2024. At the university, she serves as a SEAS Graduate Ambassador, research assistant conducting work on machine learning and deep learning models, and practice interview intern at the Career Design Center. She has also mentored at hackathons in India and volunteers with organizations such as the Google Developers Group, Hack This Fall, and ProGate, where she leads technical sessions on coding. Prior to her studies, Sheetal worked in the FinTech sector on growth and fraud and identity teams, emphasizing cross-team collaboration, coding, code review, and technical documentation. She attributes her success to perseverance, hard work, and passion, and values being a good person first, along with passion, perseverance, and courage. Her advice to others in the field highlights the importance of lifelong learning in a fast-changing space and encourages women to raise their voices despite underrepresentation.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sheetal
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to perseverance, hard work, and my passion for what I am doing right now. It's something that I always wanted to do, and now when the universe is giving me a chance, I'm trying my best to utilize that.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to never stop. It doesn't matter wherever life is taking you. Sometimes you feel like you have lost it or are left behind, or sometimes you have achieved something and feel like that's it, but no, that's just the beginning, so never stop.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If someone is starting into this career, I would say first definitely if it fits your passion or you actually enjoy what you are doing because this field takes a lot. You need to show up every day, keep learning for your entire life because it's a very fast-changing space. Be prepared that it's gonna be a long race. Being a girl, it's a field where women are underrepresented. It might be intimidating, but don't stop, raise your voice, withstand with your opinions and make sure you are trying your best to make yourself heard.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In FinTech, whatever decisions you are taking involve money, so we have to be very careful because even a single feature can lead to big loss for the company. A small attack can lead to loss of thousands of dollars, so think more cautiously from both technical and product sides to ensure it's safe.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
First of all, you should be a good person. Doesn't matter how much technically strong you are, the value that I value most is be a good person, be a good human first. Next, I would say passionate and perseverance. And be courageous.
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