In the Dynatrace, we have a lot of “Dynasaurs” 😃, people who have been with this company for years. People who developed over time as the company went through changes and grew to become what it is today. People who know this company so deeply that they can help customers in many areas.
One of these “Dynosaurs” is Hannah Masterson (@HannahM). In 2023, she is celebrating her 25th anniversary with us. And what’s certain about Hannah is that she is one of those super friendly and helpful “Dynasaurs”. 🤗 You can see it every day on the Community, where she responds quickly and tries to not leave any questions unanswered.
And even though Hannah has been with the company for so long, she always has a fresh perspective and a very open mind. Without further ado, we invite you to read and get to know Hannah better.
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Can you share some details about your past? What is your story, how did it happen that you decided to work in the IT / APM area, and how did you become a Dynatracer?
As a child, I was always interested in how things work, taking things apart, creating new things with Lego, etc. Then, when I was in secondary school, we had an engineer visit who showed us how they were working to clean up the ocean after oil spills. I knew then that I wanted to be an engineer. Before university, I spent a year on a pre-graduate scheme at a large chemical company where I learned to weld and wire up huge turbines and had the opportunity to work on large chemical plants learning about many different types of engineering. I then spent 3 years in Manchester studying Electronic Engineering and found that I wasn’t so keen on the theory. So, after University, I decided not to follow the path I had always expected to and instead looked for a job in programming, as I had done C & C++ as part of my degree. The Compuware Services team employed me on their graduate scheme, and I learned Uniface. After training, I spent several months on the Uniface helpdesk supporting German and Swiss customers and then came back to the UK and worked out on customer sites. Always being interested in new challenges, I also did some Analyst work, testing, and DBA work. There are always new things to learn in Services. Then, I had a family and no longer wanted to travel as far regularly, and the UK Support team was looking for someone to cover maternity for a year, so I tried it out and never looked back. From initially just supporting ServerVantage, I have supported most Compuware/ Dynatrace products and now specialize in DEM, particularly Synthetic. I recently celebrated 25 years working at Dynatrace/ Compuware.
Can you tell us a little bit about your job? What interesting things you’re working on that you can share?
Working in Support is great as no 2 days are the same. As a Lead Technical Support Engineer, I work part-time on tickets, and the rest of my time is on enablement and projects. I’m particularly interested in collaboration, so I spend lots of time in the Community and on our internal channels, as well as running things like Tech Exchanges where Engineers can ask Development and each other questions and troubleshoot tough problems. I’m working with Development at the moment to set up more of these collaboration opportunities.
What makes you excited about being a part of the Dynatrace?
I love being part of Dynatrace. It’s a really positive, forward-thinking company that leads rather than follows. There’s always innovation, and this is encouraged at all levels.
How is the Community helping you in your job? Why do you think it’s worth being a part of the Dynatrace Community? What best advice can you give someone who just started using Community?
I can do that both through answering their questions but also through the Troubleshooting and Dynatrace Heads Up forums. These are a great way for Support to pass on troubleshooting tips and, in the case of the Heads-up forum, get information out about known issues quickly. When I initially started using the Community, I was really nervous about posting, but there was no need. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Always do a quick search, as your question may have been asked and answered already, and then just ask away. No question is stupid.
Tell us something about you that most people don’t know. What is your biggest joy or passion in life?
Outside of work, I have a family, my husband is a games programmer, my son has just gone to University to study Business Computing, and my daughter is in secondary school. Apart from family, most of my time is spent guiding. I am the Leader for a Guide unit, similar to Scouts but just girls, and run activities for 36 10-14-year-olds every week. We also take them on trips and go camping. I love being outdoors and running activities like campfires. It’s a great honor to watch these girls grow in confidence and become inspiring young women.
What’s one thing on your bucket list? Your dream?
I have no idea. Life is pretty good at the moment, so there’s nothing particularly eating away at me to be done.
In case you’re interested this is the write of a coffee conversation I had with Klaus on my 25th Work anniversary: 25-year anniversary - Hannah Masterson
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Hannah, the Community with you is a much better place! All Community members appreciate your presence here and admire the knowledge and help you provide to solve their issues. Never stop, and… we wish you another 25 years with this company! 😊
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