Tech Dojo-ing for iOS
I was a curious and very influenceable kid.
My grandmother was a doctor so I wanted to be a doctor. I was a Lara Croft fan, so I was sure to pursue a career in Archeology, learn how to fight and braid my hair. I’ve always been fascinated by stationery, so I made my other grandmother promise me to be my business partner in our stationery shop. I even decided to join a circus crew after watching a Cirque du Soleil show.
As a kid, dreaming about the future was extremely exciting: the whole world was at my feet! In my imagination, I could be everything at the same time.
Eventually, life happened, and I couldn’t Peter-Pan myself, so when I was 17 I had to pick just one path. And it was not Software Engineering, neither a course I was passionate about. I was 17 and I knew nothing.
Honestly, I have no regrets: I’m one of those people who happily believe everything happens because it absolutely had to. And here’s the story why.
Throughout my academic life, I had always been interested in logic, and I discovered I had a good time doing online programming courses and tutorials. I was also interested in and curious about Web Development.
So, years later, as I was taking my first steps in programming, I decided to give it a go and enrolled in a Computer Engineering degree.
Early last summer I started applying to tech companies and going to interviews.
Amid my job applications, I sent my resume to Talkdesk to join their Tech Dojo program. At the time I didn’t exactly get what was Talkdesk’s product and mission, much less what Tech Dojo was about.
According to Talkdesk:
“The Tech Dojo is more than a space for immersive learning, it is a six-month graduate program specially designed for hiring and developing young talent within the Talkdesk Engineering, Creative, and Product teams […]”
After my Talkdesk interview, when I exited the facilities, I grabbed my phone and called my grandmother: “Grams, this is the company I want to work for”.
My interview was led by Ana Capelo, a Talent whisperer, who made me feel at home and could see that Talkdesk and I could be matching puzzle pieces. I will always be thankful to her and her vision.
When I got offered a Tech Dojo position in the Mobile team as an iOS developer, I basically (and almost literally) ran to my MacBook, opened Xcode and started watching tutorials on Youtube.
I was having fun making cute apps, inserting labels and adding some actions. It didn’t seem like rocket science to me.
Well, I was right, but also extremely wrong: I have fun every day doing my job. I love it. I can’t say it is impossibly hard, but it has so much more to it than I thought.
My team has very high standards compared to what I’ve read and what I was told by people who work in mobile teams in other companies.
We code, but we do it following a specific set of rules and an intricate architecture. We code so that our code is clean, scalable and testable (we have a fearless Tech Lead and Test-Driven Development Jedi Master haven’t we, Douglas Ritter?).
Our team has deep foundations, a steady structure and a sturdy layer of kindness and mutual respect.
What I could not have guessed was that I would be working with Mobile superheroes (iOS and Android).
Being a Tech Dojo in the Mobile team is a gift, and my experience here has far surpassed Talkdesk’s description of the program.
I can study and learn a valuable set of tools in an area that I never imagined I would be so interested in.
I get to improve my coding skills and routines, learning all about good practices, clean architecture, and the development process.
I grew through the clouds as a developer, which is a very small part of the learning I still have to do.
Every day I get to learn with the best in our field, who are also the funniest and kindest people I ever had the pleasure to work with.
A Dojo’s opinion is encouraged, valued and taken into account from day one.
I am impossibly lucky to have Pedro Baltarejo as my mentor. He knows I love my job, but he also has to know that he is partially responsible for it. He is a giant on iOS development, but more than that, he is funny, patient, and eats good coding practices for lunch.
Tiago Santo is a machine. I think of him as a young João Sampaio, our Technical Advisor. Nothing keeps them from doing their job. They are both focused and creative and excellent at being both. They still have the time and will to help everyone thrive. João has a huge brain and mostly a huge heart. Also a big candy provider. Recently, Tiago has been committed to pursuing his second passion as a Slack emoji creator.
Luísa Santo has a special place in my heart. She will always be an inspiration, and here’s why: Luísa taught me how to fight like a dev, in every aspect of our job. And, dear reader, a dev must fight like hell. She has a thirst for knowledge and growth, and those two features must surely also have a thirst for her — They match her perfectly. She is an outstanding thunderstorm, and she will grow to be even greater.
This team was built from the ground up by João Sampaio and Rodrigo Gonçalves, our manager.
The manager concept was, at first, very weird to me. A person who will, besides managing our team’s work, guide me through my career and individual achievements? Yeah, right…
Well, that was until I had my first meetings with Rodrigo. I finally understood that this is what a leader looks like. He grows with us, he fights for us, he empowers us. He has our sincere trust and affection.
Well, I guess I just wrote a cheesy love letter to my team. I write silly poems for my Pull Requests, what would you expect?
I encourage you to meet them, dear reader. You will soon write one too.
