#2 Behind the Scenes at valantic Romania: A Day in the Life of a Back-end Developer

1. How many years ago have you joined valantic? How did your journey with valantic Romania start???

I joined Valantic about two and a half years ago. But my journey with valantic started a bit earlier. I had the chance to work on a valantic project before joining, so the transition was natural as the project team stayed the same.?

2. What do you believe that makes valantic stand out in the industry??

I believe that Valantic's distinction in the industry comes from its team of professional individuals who are adept at offering and executing comprehensive end-to-end solutions. The company assures support to its customers throughout the entire process. Also, it fosters a positive working environment. These contribute to valantic standout presence in the industry.?

3. What are the core valantic values that you appreciate the most??

Partnership and attention to detail are two of the core valantic values that I? appreciate. The collaboration with the clients is strong and highly productive, and the solutions are delivered at the highest quality.?

4. How do you stay productive and focused throughout the day??

To maintain productivity and focus throughout the day, I try to have a consistent work schedule, ensuring that I start and end the working day at about the same times daily. I? incorporate regular short breaks to keep my mind fresh and avoid burnout. I also consider setting reasonable daily goals useful as it helps me stay on track and provides a sense of accomplishment. Also, staying hydrated keeps my energy levels up and my mind clear. This balanced routine helps me effectively manage my tasks and maintain high productivity.?

5. What is one working setup that you consider to be the most productive? (hybrid, remote,? office)??

I consider that remote work is the most productive and convenient setup. However, it’s nice to have the possibility to work in an office from time to time, allowing you to get to know your colleagues and change the environment a bit. :)??

6. How do you stay updated with the latest development trends in your field?/ What? resources (books, websites, courses) do you recommend for continuous learning??

I try to keep an eye on the news from the tech world and check regularly the updates of the technologies that are used in the project. For continuous learning resources, I would recommend tutorials created for a certain technology that can be found on YouTube, some specialty sites (for example https://www.baeldung.com/? or https://www.w3schools.com/ ) and for more structured courses perhaps a learning platform such as Pluralsight or Udemy can be useful.?

7. What are some common challenges you face as a programmer and how do you approach problem-solving when you encounter a difficult bug or issue??

One of the most common challenges I face as a programmer is to make sure that I have all the information needed to implement a solution and not over-engineer an implementation. It’s important to write clean and clear code. But it’s also important to keep an implementation simple and not over-complicate the solution. It’s a bit hard sometimes to achieve this balance.?

When solving a difficult bug, I try to get as much context as possible for the issue.? After that, I try to find examples, find information about the cause of the issue, perform some debugging operations, and analyze the problematic code. If the bug is complicated and I get stuck, I ask for a second opinion from my colleagues.??

8. Can you describe a typical project you work on? What are the most common industries for which you usually implement solutions??

I work mostly on e-commerce projects, both in a B2B and B2C context. As for implemented solutions, I contributed to developing various functionalities for facilitating user data management, product prices and details management as well as external system integrations.??

9. How do you see the role of a programmer advancing during the next few years,? considering the evolution of AI nowadays??

I think that AI assistants will become more and more used by programmers, but I? don’t see a major change in the role of a programmer. In my opinion, we should not perceive AI as a tool that will replace us, but rather as a means of improving ourselves,? learning new things, and facilitating our work. Of course, some of the tasks will be automated and probably done at one point completely by AI, but new challenges will arise.?

10. What advice would you give to someone aspiring to become a programmer??

I think one of the most important pieces of advice is to build a solid foundation by learning concepts and understanding implementation ideas. I would also suggest putting into practice the knowledge accumulated, and try implementing small projects as soon as possible.? It’s also useful to take into account the fact that it’s very possible to work in a team, so don’t ignore communication skills and teamwork. Lastly, be curious. Ask questions, try to stay informed and up to date with new technologies released, and be open to learning new things every day.