I’ve heard that 'lucky' is the place where skills and opportunities come together. If that's true, I'm happy to say that I was lucky about joining Manas.
I remember I was finishing my university's third year at Computer Science. The idea of failing at college didn't scare me anymore and I was starting to feel very curious about developing software in the real world.
I've always been a little ambitious. In spite of my lack of work experience I wanted to find a challenging place where I could work in interesting projects. I wasn't sure about what I was looking for, but I knew perfectly well what I didn't want: I didn't want to work in a project where money was the most important thing. I didn't want to work for a dictator boss for whom my salary was a kind of slavery contract. Deep inside what I wanted was to work in a developer team where we could all cooperate, learn from each other, and work together in order to build meaningful projects.
So when one day, one of the TA’s at college told me about this place called 'Manas' (where he himself was working) and his experiences, and how much he enjoyed being at this place, I told him about my expectations. He listened when I shared my worries about my time restrictions while attending courses at college and reserving time for studying. In addition he told me that his coworkers were very open to this and there would be no problem. "You should really try it" - he stated at the end. And I did.
The application process and the interviews can be briefly described as follows. There were five of them, each one in a different day. The first one was a kind of informal chat where we talked about my day-to-day, my responsibilities as a student and what I envisioned for the job. Two technical interviews (one virtual and one face-to-face) followed the process. They consisted in solving not so difficult algorithmic problems. After that I was invited to a kind of "one day working together experience". They asked me to come with an idea of my own or a personal project to work in, and the basic idea was to see if I would feel comfortable working with my future coworkers and vice-versa. Finally, a brief chat with the CEO took place and it wasn’t too different from the first interview.
So after all those things, one sunny spring day of October I received an email with a job offer from 'Manas'. I accept it almost immediately. I felt very happy and very excited about my near future. Turns out every step taken was worth it.
First experiences in Manas
First days were busy. They really were. Life was saying: "Did you want a challenge? Here you go".
I had to learn a lot of things about web development, such as HTML, Javascript and Ruby On Rails framework, and other things related with development in general like managing a database or using version control software. All these things compressed in a brief period of time.
Up until that moment I was used to working at my own pace, so initially it was difficult. In addition, I was set on keeping good marks in university, so... double work, yeeey! Anyway, I kept on trying, and I learned and practiced on those areas where I had the most trouble. Back then I started to realize that being at Manas means constantly learning things and developing new skills in unexplored areas.
And about my coworkers, they were really kind to me. As a junior dev that fact meant a lot. They helped me every time I had trouble with something, and they also had patience when it took me too long to finish a task.
Manas today
Two years and counting have passed since that moment, and sometimes I think that it feels like two weeks. I have learned a lot of things since then, but there is still so much left! My life went smoothly during all this time. I can proudly say that Manas is even more than I would have ever expected. Projects are really interesting and I love working with my coworkers. I'm still studying at university, but both things are truly compatible.
And it may sound cliche, but in our office no day is like any other. Every single one is a sort of little adventure. So if you ask me: "How is working at Manas?", maybe it’ll be easier for me to answer with another question. "How would my life be if I weren’t at at Manas?". And the answer comes without even thinking it: My days would lack an important and exciting part.