And what about you? You may have heard about nerds, the people who wear glasses, a plaid shirt, who can’t talk about other subjects than computers. Hahaha that’s not true, at all. Can you imagine a programmer’s job? Let me describe one day from a programmer’s life.
Computers, applications, smartphones, and even refrigerators have been overrun by software developers, and we even don’t know it. Every device must have software to do something – who is creating this software – programmers! That is incredible and makes programmers gods – hahah that’s true. Can you imagine your life without smartphones or the Internet? Probably not. Me neither and I was decided to start working as a developer to be able to create our modern world :)
Every day from 9:00am to 5:00pm I work in an office with 15 other developers in the “Soho Factory” (a small business district in Warsaw Praga). We are called the “EDGE Technology” - www.edge.do. We aren’t nerds and don’t wear shirts – there is no dress-code. Probably you think we sit in front of computers all day long, I have to disappoint you… The very first very important point of the day is coffee :) This is the casual time when we meet us with managers and talks about ongoing projects– something like the scrum, this takes 10-20 minutes. The next step is the computer – we write our part of projects in code. Each of us has a favorite notepad or a compilation application – yeah! Save the logical sequence of commands in code that creates an application invented by a customer. That process lasts sometimes even for several months – next for several months as well we fix bugs and the biggest errors, and after probably a year we could deliver the application to our customer. Our programming languages are C++, Java and PHP, and we write applications for BGK, AXA, TVN and some other companies… Often we meet with demanding clients... :)
Work is work but no one is limited only to work – there are corporate events (dancing, karaoke, competitions and games). In our office we have a relaxation area, something like in Google, where we have TV, a PlayStation, a Microsoft Xbox - you can feel like a child, when you have a break.
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| "Relax area" in Google |
And as I’ve mentioned the break – our break starts at 12am and continues for 2 hours when we can do anything we want to. We usually go to a restaurant to have dinner. We have several options – there are 3 restaurants (“Szklarnia”, “Warszawa Wschodnia” – Mateusz Gessler’s and “Paleta Smaku”). Stress-free programmers’ lives are the topics of discussions – not computers, software or hardware – food and fun… From 9:00 am to 12:00 am we can hear only “what we have eaten?”, “where we have eaten?”, “are you going to play CS?”… 30 year old people that behave like children. It's a bit surprising but stereotypes don’t work here. Maybe you think: what’s going on? They only have fun! That’s right, but this fun, a casual style integrate and motivate people to work hard– relaxed people do more and more effectively. Programmer’s work is creative work, and having fun they have new ideas to write the smartest, fastest algorithms. After dinner and several minutes of rest it’s time for coffee and discussions about relationships, women, sport and of course sex – our team includes only men. Sorry there is one female programmer – Mariola :) She is very kind, slim, pretty, but she is crazy about technology and sometimes she thinks like men do… She is good at her job. I do not think she is a good candidate for a girlfriend… Sorry Mariola…
My working day ends at 5:00 pm when we close notepads, application compilations, turn off computers and go home. I don’t know what you do at home. We have two singers and two people playing the guitar in our team, so I guess that they have fun also after work…
Interesting people, interesting characters, interesting work and a good team - would you like to learn more, get to know us? Feel free to discuss and ask questions in the comments.
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Source:
1. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg, access: 23-11-2015 06:29 pm
2. paulchong.net, http://paulchong.net/2012/05/11/google-headquarters-a-wonder-of-a-workplace/, access: 23-11-2015, 06:32 pm
3. payscale.com, http://www.payscale.com/career-news/2013/05/what-its-really-like-to-be-a-female-programmer, access: 23-11-2015 06:30 pm
Source:
1. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg, access: 23-11-2015 06:29 pm
2. paulchong.net, http://paulchong.net/2012/05/11/google-headquarters-a-wonder-of-a-workplace/, access: 23-11-2015, 06:32 pm
3. payscale.com, http://www.payscale.com/career-news/2013/05/what-its-really-like-to-be-a-female-programmer, access: 23-11-2015 06:30 pm
Amazing article! You describe exactly what every developer experiences every day
ReplyDeleteor at least should experience. When I was on the internship as a scala developer I had a similar daily developer's life cycle. There was only one difference, we had 40 minute lunch breaks, but there were other breaks during a day. We could play Xbox, table football or darts. Additionally we had one day during the week when our CEO funded a pizza or on a different day he brought a lot of fruits. A good thing about developers job is that you can work from home or come to work from 7:00am till 11:00am. You are right that relaxed people are more efficient. Now I'm preparing to start a new job as a Java developer and I hope that this company will have similar standards or rules. I wish that I could have applied for a job at your company but I never leave Gdansk.
It is hard to believe that you work for six hours a day. As I guess, your Employer is foreign, or he learned how to run the business abroad. I know some programmers, but neither of them work in a company. All are freelancers. They work very hard, for all days, but of course, they earn respectively.
ReplyDeleteMy profession is graphic designer, but many times it happens that I had to learn some programming. I have to say that I like it very much :) When you write something, and it works - it gives you a big satisfaction, worse, when it doesn't and you have no idea why :)
Yea, this is strange that you work 6h... and to be exact. @Kamil you spend 30min to talk about what you will do, 2h to have break and propably you dont start to code at time when you sit to laptop,Im I right? if so then you code like ~4h in a day. This looks strange but if you telling truth then I should start to work there :D
DeleteWe work for 6-7 hours a day and I thing this time is sufficient and effective - longest work is less effective and tiring. Programmer who work for 8 hours and more, wasting more time - that's true because nobody normal will not stand staring in colorful code for several hours :) Meetings not always last for 30 minutes - sometimes 10, sometimes we just haven't meetings and all day we sit in front of computer...
Delete2h is for a lunch, that's right, but it's a time between 12:00 am and 02:00 pm and we also could work... Many of us doesn't make break for lunch at all.
@Kamil Im curious about how do you start there? What did you do? You start at age 19year old and they pick you just like that? How was your first mont/year in this company? There was something that you dislike or you can tell someone that start now?
ReplyDeleteI started learning PHP when I was 14yo. I started working after high school (when I was 18). My first office was very small - 3 programmers (one front-end developer, one javascript developer and I - "web developer/trainee") - we created simple websites, later more complex CMS/CRM systems for websites which already existed. The company called SailMedia, I worked there for a two years and since september 2014 I started work for EDGE :) They find me by LinkedIn - first: review, then PHP proficiency test, and now I have fun with other programmers hahah
DeleteFirst month was very hard for me because "open space", large group of people (only 15 people in developer department but about 10 in advertisement, 5 graphic designers, 5 managers, and some others in UX/Administration), meetings, planning, focus on quality and older colleagues who had 10 years of experience - it was very stressfull for beginner, but now I'm happy to work here :)
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ReplyDeleteI think that the reason you work only 6 hours is that you need to be like D. Scott Williamson, the Expert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7MIJP90biM.
ReplyDeleteWe also have programmers, but if they would only for only 6 hours, with schedule every break you mentioned, we wouldn’t be able to finish our game at all. It’s hard to imagine that your job is so easy, I think that there is a catch. There must be! But if everything you say is true, I think that my decision to study Informatics next year is a good choice. I love my job, but your proposal is very tempting
I work as an IT analyst and every day I am working with developers. I agree with you that stereotypes that we certainly heard about developers, they are not true :) I can talk with them on various topics, not just those that are connected with IT and they do not wear a plaid shirt pulled in corduroy. But when it comes to their working time, it is different from that shown by you. Usually, when I come to work they are already working (I start working from 8.00), and when I leave work, they are still working. They are very good workers and they have great skills but if they would work only 6 hours a day we wouldn’t finish our projects on time. I know that a lot depends on the size of the project and its schedule, but I think that 6hours of work is not enough in IT projects.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with you, that stereotypes about programmers and IT people are false. Of course, you can find a nerds, but you can also find a total opposite of them. Exactly as in everyone place - people are different. Someone is a bit more communicative, someone less. Part of them likes to go out, part much more prefers to stay home. Guys from IT are not a strangers from another planet :) I am happy that people finally begin to notice that fact.
ReplyDeleteI also have to agree with you about working hours. About 6 hours of actual work is most effective. Every minute more, makes the efficiency drops. Naturally there are sometimes special situations, when you need to work more what is caused by different incidents. Sometimes you must hurry up because of rapidly approaching release. But if you do not chasing deadlines then about 6 hours are perfect.
Hello, I will join the discussion.Great article with many interesting points.
ReplyDeleteI also work as a developer and this kind of work is not easy but I am passionate about it. I do not feel like doing my work only for money. I also do not work only between 8-16 because somethimes there is something more to do.
It is also good to have some break during the day and just relax and don't think about antyhing.
Thank you that you have mentioned about stereotypes about IT people. That is not true that everyone wears flannel shirt. :)
Flannel shirt? I have one! In red - black grille - hahah
DeleteEven once I was wearing it at work, exceptionally :)
I like to listen or read about people who have jobs they wanted to have. In my opinion it is so much easier to work if you do what you like. Good fo you! About your office and relaxing area... wow! work and playground for adults. But like you said, you have to be creative and everyone is more creative when he is relaxed. For me programmers are one of this people who will have lots of work in future, so good luck.
ReplyDeleteThank You and thanks for you're opinion :) That's right - the most important is to have a passions and not be afraid to pursue them :)
DeleteVery cool topic !
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I have to agree with Claudia’s comment about developers. I work together with Claudia in the same company and the same IT project and the developers are working really long time ( at night too). Of course, this depends on the size of the project ( we just are in a very large IT project ) .
Anyway, I envy you r job :) The atmosphere is very nice – you’re doing what belongs to you , and by the way you're having fun . And that's it!
Hi Kamil, thanks for introduce us to your everyday life :) Thanks to your article I can imagine your workplace, people around you and way of your work.
ReplyDeleteI'm a graphic designer and I used to work with programmers in advertising agency.
IT specialist usually created web pages and online shops.
Can you describe 3 most important personality attributes for a person who wants to became a programmer :)?
That's some interesting job you have there. Really. 2 hour break during the day? That even seems like too much. As far as I know companies give you 15 to maximum of 45 minutes of break. That's a nice job you have there buddy.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I don't think you have chosen the right audience for that kind of article. I mean, we study at Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology. A lot of as work as or were working as programmers. And if that's not the case, it's likely that we are friends with programmers.
We know about the stereotypes but I don't think we are foolish enough to believe them.
Anyway, I agree that if the job requires us to be creative it's great to work in that kind of environment. In most cases, tiered mind generates bad ideas.
That's an interesting job to do, however it's obviously not my cup of tea. I find interesting about this article that some devices today are run by software programmers, anyway I don't find it making our life easier, in fact, devices which are being programmed usually break faster and we only got problems and costs because of them.
ReplyDeleteHardly ever do I get to read an article I agree with in 100% ! :) It's really cool that someone has finally decided to fight the stereotypes, which are so far from the truth. Also, I need to say that the work atmospthere of yours is splendid and I'd really envy you... if I were not a progmammer myself :)
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