When my husband and I first moved to Oslo, we quickly realized that learning Norwegian was essential. Not only would it help us connect with the people around us, but it was also key to fully experiencing life here—whether that meant engaging in lunch breaks with colleagues or staying informed through the local news. So, we signed up for Norwegian classes just weeks after arriving. It wasn’t easy, but I’m so glad we made that decision.

Before long, I was able to scan newspapers for headlines and job listings. Eager to get started, I applied for every programming job I could find. I must have sent out over 60 applications, hoping to land something that would serve as a stepping stone. Along the way, I received a few suggestions to look for jobs outside of IT and programming, but I stuck with it, thanks to my husband’s support and confidence that it was just a matter of time.

Then, the exciting moment arrived—I got my first job interview at Rikstrygdeverket.

I’ll never forget the day I walked into the office at Solli Plass to meet Terje Hansen and Per Jensen. When I joined the team, I was the only one who didn’t speak Norwegian. My manager, Kjell Koperud, took the time to help me settle in and gave me a brief overview of the team’s work. It was a pivotal moment in my career in Norway, and I owe much of my career to the support and encouragement I received from those early days at Rikstrygdeverket.

However, I quickly learned that there was no formal onboarding program. Simple things, like how lunch breaks and coffee breaks worked, were unfamiliar to me. The office culture was so different from what I had experienced in Mumbai, and I was often too shy to ask for clarification.

Despite these challenges, I found my way, and a year later, I had the opportunity to work on one of the largest IT projects in Norway at the time—TRESS90. The project had a few English-speaking team members, and the work was based on Oracle and SQL—technologies I had been reading up on in my spare time. This project was a game-changer for me. Not only did I get to apply my skills, but I also had the pleasure of working with Birgit Fredriksen, our wonderful office manager, who was always there to guide me when I needed help.

I spent several years at Rikstrygdeverket, taking time off to care for my children when they were born. By 1995, when my second son had started kindergarten, I was ready to return to work. But by then, the TRESS90 project was winding down, which presented me with the perfect opportunity to embark on a new chapter in my career.