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Марія БровінськаІсторії
19 November 2024, 09:00
2024-11-19
"I was sure I wouldn't be hired, but I still sent my resume and forgot about it." The 23-year-old Ukrainian received a quick offer from Uber and now automates business processes and steals terabytes of data from the tech giant
Have you ever dreamed of working for a global tech giant, and working with large volumes of interesting data? 23-year-old Oleksandr Tulilyuk wanted to find any job within his competences, and after sending 20 reviews for vacancies, in particular, at Uber, he did not even dream that attention would be drawn to his candidacy. However, he was noticed, tested online, and then — an interview, and now he has been juggling huge volumes of data of a global transportation operator for about half a year.
Oleksandr told dev.ua how he fell in love with IT, how he looked for a job and eventually found himself in one of the most desirable companies for many.
Have you ever dreamed of working for a global tech giant, and working with large volumes of interesting data? 23-year-old Oleksandr Tulilyuk wanted to find any job within his competences, and after sending 20 reviews for vacancies, in particular, at Uber, he did not even dream that attention would be drawn to his candidacy. However, he was noticed, tested online, and then — an interview, and now he has been juggling huge volumes of data of a global transportation operator for about half a year.
Oleksandr told dev.ua how he fell in love with IT, how he looked for a job and eventually found himself in one of the most desirable companies for many.
A childhood hobby that became a profession
I have been interested in IT since childhood. Dad worked in a repair service and often brought home various computer parts that were no longer needed at work, but were considered toys for little me. Around the age of 10, I watched a video on how to create your own calculator in C++ — although I didn’t understand anything, I became interested in technology even more.
In 2019, I signed a contract for «Computer Science» at KPI. But after the first semester, he had to leave his studies due to financial difficulties in the family and difficulties with the program. I probably didn’t take it seriously enough, so I was behind the others.
Then my sister, who lived in Krakow, offered to move in with her. This coincided with the beginning of the covid pandemic. After moving, I studied mathematics on my own for another year, because I understood its importance without even thinking that it might be needed in the future, and I worked part-time.
Now I am 23 years old, I have been living here for over 4 years and I am finishing my studies in «Informatics and Econometrics» at the University of Frych Modzhevsky.
If we compare the experience of obtaining higher education in Ukraine and Poland, I can say that at KPI the material was still at a higher level.
Therefore, it seems to me that they provide a better fundamental base for engineers there. Although the attitude of teachers to students in the current university is much friendlier.
Bet on Python
Among the programming languages, I chose Python. Why? Even at the beginning, I would, probably, like everyone else, say about a simple and clear syntax. To answer now, Python, with all its flaws, has tremendous community support. This allows you to very quickly implement the necessary functionality with the help of various libraries and frameworks.
First job
I started looking for my first job on my own. At that time, I had no idea what a resume should look like, what projects should be in a portfolio to interest a potential employer, and what knowledge I needed for my first job. Yes, there was an idea about systematic training of the profession.
After studying the options, I chose one of the Ukrainian schools — Mate academy. I have known Mate since the days of KPI. Then I thought about going to a full-time Java course, but I stopped at the test task. Later, on my advice, a friend went there for UI/UX Design, and received an offer almost immediately after the course. I was motivated by the rapid progress in his skills, so I decided to try again.
20 resumes and problems of an emigrant
The main goal for me was to find any job that would match my level and competences. Although my knowledge of Polish allows me to work in a Polish-speaking team, English is required almost everywhere. Even before the end of my studies, I responded to about 20 vacancies. At the same time, an acquaintance advised to look at positions at Uber, as her sister works there. I was sure I wouldn’t be hired, but I still sent my resume for the Automation Intern job and forgot about it.
A week later, I received an online test with 5 questions and one practice task that required me to retrieve a list of data from a query and filter it. I was surprised at its simplicity. Another week later, I received an invitation for technical and HR interviews in English, which I also answered quite confidently. I was sure that I had a chance to pass. From the technical side, everything was great, the question arose only regarding the official registration of me as a Ukrainian. After two weeks of correspondence with Uber’s HR department, I did receive my offer.
Work at Uber
The internship, which lasted 3 months, began in July this year. Already from the first week, I felt the care of the company for its employees. Management and organization of processes is also a big advantage. Very clearly structured processes help to quickly perform their work and not waste time on unnecessary actions.
After several positive feedbacks from the mentor and team leader before the end of the internship, I received an offer for a full-time position as an Automation Specialist.
My immediate responsibility is the automation of business processes and the creation of tools and dashboards for internal use. It is a cross between backend development, data engineering and data analytics. And we have a lot of data, we literally have to work with databases that weigh tens of terabytes.
At work, our main tool is Python, and depending on the task, I additionally use Flask, SQLAlchemy, Plotly and many internal libraries. For internal API integration, we use gRPC and Apache Thrift, which I first got to know at work. Although I have to constantly learn new technologies, libraries, and frameworks, learning at Mate has given me a strong foundation that I don’t struggle with.
I plan to actively develop further and in the future move to the position of Software Engineer at Uber in Amsterdam. Our department in Krakow is working with a backlog, and I want to have more influence on the product itself.
For me to think about changing the company, the next one should be better in three aspects: management, team and salary.
Advice for ambitious students who want to get a job at a tech giant
In my opinion, tech giants often have a high level of bureaucracy, and they really look more closely at your background and accomplishments. Although, of course, there are exceptions. Therefore, it is worth preparing for such companies not only from the technical side, but also from the point of view of soft skills. It is important to be able to «sell» your projects, places at Olympiads, and generally all the achievements you have gained during your studies or previous work.
However, if your goal is to get the position of Software Engineer, then Leetcode has not been canceled by anyone.
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Не тільки телефон, ключі, навушники. Uber дослідив, що українці найчастіше забувають в автомобілях
Сьогодні Uber представляє свій шостий щорічний рейтинг забутих речей, що показує, які речі українські користувачі забувають найчастіше, в яких країнах та містах Європи, Близького Сходу та Африки забувають найбільше речей, дні та години, протягом яких люди найбільш забудькуваті, і, звісно ж, найбільш незвичні предмети, залишені в автомобілях, замовлених через Uber.
Черга за пасажирами, бензокриза та комендантські коефіцієнти. Як війна вплинула на тарифи Uklon, Bolt та Uber
В більшості міст України, де не йдуть бойові дії, працюють популярні сервіси виклику авто — Uklon, Uber та Bolt. Той, хто часто ними користується, напевно помітив, що в середньому вартість однієї поїздки виросла на 20-30 гривень (принаймні, в Києві). Водночас авто почали приїжджати швидше, хоча враховуючи дефіцит пального в Україні, мали б стояти в черзі за дизелем ще кілька годин.
Як працюють служби таксі під час війни та що впливає на тарифи?
