After studying in her hometown at the Liceo No 2 de Niñas, she joined the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at the University of Chile.

[2] After university, Olguín had a number of positions, both as a professional attorney for Valparaiso Customs and as a professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

Though she served only a short period of time, she is credited as being the first woman ever to hold a cabinet post in Latin America.

[4][5] Shortly after Olguín's appointment as Minister of Justice, María Teresa del Canto was named Minister of Education (1952–53), though women did not play a significant role in Chilean government until the 1990s.

In 1955 she joined the board of the Bar Association and during the 60's she was legal adviser to the Comptroller General of the Republic.