His day seems to have 48 hours and each of them is fully utilized. Our colleague Ady studies, plays in a band, composes songs, works in a student radio station and, last but not least, programs. How does he manage all this? That’s one of the questions we asked him in the interview.
You study and work at the same time. Why did you decide to combine it like that?
From my point of view, studying theory without its simultaneous implementation in practice is uninteresting and, above all, very little effective. In the first year of university, therefore, I already decided to work in the field I am studying.
What’s the field?
Computer science. A course which begins as universal, but in the higher years students choose the subjects themselves and so gradually the intention of each of us crystallizes.
I have to say, that’s exactly the kind of study I like. It should be added, however, that by choosing the given subjects, the student doesn’t close the door to other spheres of computer science. For example, I decided to try something different and almost completely new for me when choosing a topic for my thesis – AI model for segmentation of organs in the abdominal area in CT scans.
You say you’ve been working since the first year, but you started in bart less than a year ago.
Yes, I got to bart.sk thanks to Live IT projects that we needed to complete in the 4th year. From the beginning, I found it a very interesting project, but since I was already employed, at first I didn’t see it as a job opportunity. Rather I was just looking forward to finally doing something at school that would be used somewhere and I’d enjoy it to the fullest. Because if anyone looked at my grades, it would immediately be clear to them that if I don’t like something, I won’t go all out :D.
And did you enjoy it?
I got an A. So you probably already know how I feel about this whole thing. It was a very nice experience for me that brought me new experiences, and I also got to know my classmates who worked with me on the project better. Amongst them, I had the most experience in Flutter technology at the beginning and I was very pleased at the end of the project when I saw that after this experience, each team member would be able to code a simple application in it.
I attended some of these meetings and I really liked the cooperation and how you worked with Mišo and the team. I also remember our first unofficial meeting, which was after the finale of the project, but before the official interview. What motivated you to start considering bart as an employer when you already had a job?
Not to mention the fact that from the very first time I entered bart, I was captivated by very nice premises, I was maybe convinced by the unofficial conversation, before which I was still wavering. Thanks to that, I looked into the company and project environment and learned how they approach work in bart. I was probably most captivated by the technologies that are used in new projects and by the way of cooperation with the customers. Those were the things that I could only imagine very marginally. And even though I believed it, I was very curious whether it really works this way :D. I confirm, it does. In all the time I’ve been here, I haven’t felt like I made a bad decision for a second.
After joining, however, you immediately started working on the project where you still work today. How do you assess it?
It’s great! SportNet is a project that welcomed me in bart and I’m still very happy to be a part of it. About 2-3 days before my arrival, I received a message from Mišo (product owner for SportNet) asking whether I needed some extra time to study the technology or whether I’d like to start working on specific tasks right away. I decided to start working right away. I learned technology at the same time, at work and at home. Of course I have “tripped” several times and made mistakes. But I think it was a good decision and it took me further.
Recently, for example, I have started to focus a bit more on frontend and I’m currently working intensively on the Ticketing application within SportNet. However, I also deal with the concept of embeddable widgets (match lists, match results, tables, etc.), which could be easily shared from Sportnet on other external sites.
What’s your idea of an ideal programmer’s day?
To not sit behind the PC in the morning and to go for a beer with colleagues in the afternoon ?
But that’s not the timeline of the day here. I have doubts whether you enjoy working here :-).
I do enjoy it. And very much so! We’re a great team, so it’s not just about writing code. I wanted to say that I generally prefer days in which my colleagues and I analyze, brainstorm and come up with new things (sometimes continuing in a pub), rather than the more common ones when we just do programming.
And now your free time, Ady. You manage a job, a school, a fiancée, a band. How do you do that?
I don’t know. Sometimes I miss hours of sleep. For the record, my goal isn’t to preoccupy my head to avoid everyday problems, but to keep working on something interesting and, above all, something I enjoy. But I think this is my lifestyle, when I sometimes stray from it and take a longer break, I feel uncomfortable.
But think of health and priorities too.
Music is definitely in the first place, as I sing and compose music in a band. Hand in hand with the band goes a kind of micro-management of people, which helped me get to the leading post of the student radio last year. Since we’re still talking about music and music also includes concerts, I am increasingly involved in programming and creating light shows.
I admire nature and I like animals, which may have led me and my fiancée to start rearing lab rats. In addition to them, we also have a dog, Lili. And if I still have some free time, I like to play darts or watch some interesting videos.
You’re also going to run the International Peace Marathon, a relay. Have you been training? Why did you choose relay?
I am looking forward to the Peace Marathon very much, because I used to run and one can think of completely different thoughts while doing it. I still go for a run now and then, but it’s not regular, which is why I decided to go for the relay. Marathon and half marathon are too big bites for me 🙂 Since this year bart.sk will be a partner of the marathon and will help runners get to the finish line, this year will be even more special for me. And at the same time, our student radio station will be there. What can I say, I’ll be everywhere. 😀
Would you like to say something to the students who will be choosing topics for the Live IT projects?
First of all, you need to choose a topic that you’ll enjoy, but at the same time you have at least minimal experience in that field. With Live IT projects, it’s important to remember that it’s not a hackathon that ends in 24 hours. It’s an opportunity and experience that doesn’t have to end with a letter in the student grade book.
Ady, thanks for the interview. I’m glad that you chose us as part of the Live IT projects and I am even more glad that our journey together has not ended there.
I wish you continued success in doing what you enjoy the most.
