Fabamaq Game Changers: from Nurse to Software Engineer at an IT company - Mariana Pereira

Changing careers requires courage, resilience, and determination! That was the bold move many Gamers dared to take with Fabamaq’s support — leaving behind established career paths to embrace a tech journey at an IT company that develops casino games from Portugal to the world. Today, we get to know the story of Mariana Pereira, a nurse who became a software engineer!

Five years in nursing were enough for Mariana Pereira to realise she needed a new direction. She felt stuck, unmotivated and saw no real prospects for growth in the healthcare field. That’s when she made one of the most challenging decisions of her life: leaving a stable career to embrace a new professional challenge at an IT company.

Today, Mariana is part of the Automation & Delivery team at Fabamaq. The software house specialised in developing casino games introduced her to a path full of opportunities and challenges. But this change didn’t happen overnight, it was a demanding journey filled with self-discovery, learning, and overcoming obstacles, which we’ll explore in more detail below.

From hospital to IT company: when change becomes necessary

My name is Mariana, I’m 29 years old, and I’ve always been surrounded by people connected to tech. Still, I chose nursing. For five years, I worked in intensive care, emergency, surgery, and other demanding hospital departments. It was an intense and enriching experience, but I quickly realised that career progression was limited and appreciation was almost non-existent.

The decision to change came after a difficult period. I felt like I was sacrificing my personal life without gaining any real benefits. I had colleagues with decades of experience who were demotivated, and I knew I didn’t want to follow that same path.

That’s when I started looking at a career in tech as a viable way to grow and explore new possibilities. In addition to development opportunities, it was the flexibility of the sector that appealed to me the most, no more exhausting shifts or working during holidays. Ultimately, I was seeking more balance between my personal and professional life.

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Entering a tech company: a leap into the unknown

The transition to tech didn’t come without doubts. Am I capable? Is it too late to start over? These were constant questions in my mind, but the thought of continuing down a path with no evolution scared me even more.

I enrolled in SWitCH DEV, an intensive course where I started learning from scratch. I went from not knowing how to write a single line of code to working with different stacks. It was a challenging but incredibly rewarding process.

The biggest obstacle? Changing the way I think. In nursing, I dealt with well-defined routines, whereas programming requires logical and abstract thinking. At the beginning of the course organised by Porto Tech Hub, I felt like I was relearning everything, but with practice and persistence, adapting became natural.

From healthcare to a tech company in Porto

When I joined Fabamaq, I felt a positive shock, I was coming from a demanding and impersonal hospital environment. At Fabamaq, I found a space where I was valued from day one.

The biggest surprise? The industry. I had never considered casino game development, let alone realised that there were tech companies in Portugal specialising in this area. It was a whole new world for me, and I quickly understood the level of innovation and creativity behind the company’s operations.

Another standout factor was the work environment I discovered. Fabamaq was a breath of fresh air. Here, I feel like I’m part of a team, I’m respected, and I have room to grow.

The skills nursing and tech have in common

Despite the drastic career change, I brought with me essential skills from nursing that I now apply in my daily work as a Software Engineer:

• Resilience and persistence – Working under pressure and handling unexpected challenges helped me stay focused and always seek solutions.
• Teamwork – Effective communication and collaboration were key in nursing and remain fundamental in my current role as a software engineer.
• Attention to detail – In nursing, every detail can save lives. In programming, a small mistake can compromise an entire project.

These soft skills made my transition to tech much smoother than I ever imagined.

A new life in the tech world

The greatest achievement since starting this journey has been realising that I am capable. At Fabamaq, I’ve already learned programming languages and contributed to real projects, something that seemed impossible just a few months ago. I’m not an expert yet, but I’m proud of the work I’ve done, and I know I’m on a path with plenty of room to grow.

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone considering a career change into tech, it would be this: don’t let fear decide for you. If you don’t take the first step, you’ll never know what you could have achieved.

At Fabamaq, I found a new beginning in a dynamic and innovative sector within an IT company based in Porto. Here, I have the freedom to keep learning every day and the confidence that I made the right choice. The biggest bet of my life was choosing to be happy.

Ready to take on a challenge at an IT company?

The career change and reskilling journey Mariana embraced is not unique within Fabamaq or the broader tech ecosystem in Portugal. If you're looking for a new opportunity at a tech company in Porto, explore the open roles at Fabamaq and discover how to become part of a software house that creates global casino gaming products.

Article written with the contribution and testimony of Mariana Pereira