When a Nurse Turned into an Engineer

Why did you choose to work at Quipper?

When I joined Quipper I felt like a domestic passenger on an international flight. The reason why I chose to work at Quipper was I want to contribute myself in education. I know exactly how struggle it was to learn with limitation in a small city where I used to live in Kalimantan. Besides, I strongly believe I can get support for my personal and professional growth in Quipper

You came from a Nursing background, why did you finally choose a career as an Engineer?

I initially wanted to take Informatics study program, but my parents suggested me to take nursing. After diving in nursing I enjoyed this field, and I was dreaming to become a Cardiac Nurse. I felt comfortable to see blood and `hecting` on the wound during surgery, but I had a problem back then. So I decided to pursue my dream to take a career as an Engineer. Yes, I do miss the moment working in the hospital sometimes.

What is interesting from your job as an Engineer at Quipper?

I came from a place where the infrastructure does not support a job that requires constant and stable internet connection. As I learned to code by myself, I watched various video on youtube for mastery. The internet connection struggle is real! I have to wait for a few minutes just to see one video.

I also still remember the struggle and drama when having the interview and coding test at Quipper. I needed to go to my friend’s place with a better internet connection to have the interview run without me and the interviewer cursing on the poor connection. His place is 35 kilometers away from my house. When I did the interview with Quipper’s CTO in London, I left my house at 7PM Central Indonesia Time (WITA) and came back home at 12PM. Also, when I did the coding test with Robbie Marcelo, a Software Engineer Lead stationed in the Philippines. I almost finished the coding test before the given deadline, but I accidentally spilled water on my laptop and it was broken! So, I had to start over from the beginning. Lucky me, Robbie agreed when I asked to extend the submission deadline. Moreover, he liked the result and here I am now working for almost two years at Quipper Indonesia.

What are the challenges you face while working as a Web Developer?

I feel that one of the challenges I face while working in this role is communication. Not only that we need to have good communication within Indonesia team, but also because we need to collaborate with engineer team from other countries like the Philippines, Mexico, and Japan. Besides, as a Developer, I also need to be able to write readable codes which I have always been struggling to master from time to time.

As a father of two children, time management is very critical. I need to accelerate myself in coding, but at the same time, I need to make my time for my family. Those are something i need to work on to make both of my personal and professional life in a good balance.

Do you think your team can support your personal and professional growth?

As a person who has less experience and skill compared to the other engineers in the company, I can say that my team always supports and helps me. I got their back as guidance and help.