Alejandro Flores, a graduate of the Simón Bolívar University, is a software engineer at Google and works for YouTube Search. He is one of the few Venezuelans who works at the tech giant
Working for a technological giant like Google was on Alejandro Flores’ mind for a long time, but he only saw it as a goal to be achieved in 2009, when he was just beginning to study Computer Engineering at the Simón Bolívar University (USB).
It took 13 years for Flores to reach the most important technology company in the world. Today he is one of the few Venezuelans who belongs to the ranks of Google.
Alejandro Flores Velazco is 30 years old. He was born in Caracas, but grew up on the island of Margarita, Nueva Esparta state. There he studied his elementary and high school, and also participated in several math tournaments, an experience that, according to himself, led him to study Computer Engineering.
At the age of 18, he returned to his native Caracas to study at the Simón Bolívar University (USB). There he graduated five years later, in 2014.
Velazco is the first member of his family to study a science degree and the first to enter USB, one of the most important and best-qualified universities in Venezuela.
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Your way to Google
After completing his degree as a computer engineer, Flores worked for several months as a teaching assistant at USB. In mid-2015, he traveled to the United States to study for a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park.
«The doctorate usually takes five years, but the truth is that it almost always takes longer, it took me seven years. I graduated in May of this year », she comments in an interview with the voice of america.
His intention was to specialize in the academic area. However, the internship he did at Facebook in 2019 led him to consider other options. He remembers that when he got his Ph.D. he applied for various jobs in the tech industry. He finally got called from Google.
«When I finished my doctorate I saw the need to make a decision. I decided to stay in the industry for at least a few years, also because it is much better in terms of salary and to prove experience », he said.
Now, this Venezuelan is a software engineer at Google. He works for YouTube Search, helping with the app’s recommendation system.
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Neither the first Venezuelan nor the last
For Alejandro Flores’ family, the professional steps he has taken, and especially his arrival at Google, are a great source of pride and happiness.
It has been for him, too, especially since he acknowledges that Latino representation in the tech industry is much lower than in other fields.
“I feel very proud. I am neither the first Venezuelan nor will I be the last, but here the Latino representation in technology is much lower than that of other communities and that is why I am very proud to be here », he expressed.
However, in the case of Google, he recognizes that it has done a good job of inclusion and there are important communities of Latinos. He does not think the same of the academic area, and comments that during his doctorate, of the 100 students enrolled, only two were Latino.
About his future, Flores does not want to plan too much. For now he is focused on doing a good job at Google and learning as much as possible. He does not rule out that later he decides to return to the academic area to teach others.
«I don’t know what the future holds for me in five years, if I return to the academy or stay here. But I do not rule out going back to the academy because I like it a lot », she said.
«One of the things that USB left me was that love for teaching and learning, for the love of art, which is one of the virtues that teachers have in Venezuela. Under the very difficult circumstances in which they have to work, they continue to teach and give their best », he concluded.
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