What I learned about software companies – as someone without a tech background
When I started at esveo, I didn't really have anything to do with software. Sure, I use apps and websites every day, but to be honest, I didn't know how they were created or what ‘Scrum,’ ‘code review’ or ‘DevOps’ meant. Joining a tech company was a whole new world for me, not only professionally but also culturally. And that's exactly what I want to talk about here: what I learned about software companies as a non-techie – and what still fascinates me about them today.
1. Coding on your own is only half as good
From the outside, people often think that techies are loners who spend all day writing code in a quiet little room. That's only partly true. For us, project work means working in a team, having colleagues review and improve code, and very often achieving goals together. The classic lone wolf is rather rare here. Joint discussions and conversations among colleagues alone lead to much better results.
2. Openness and a feedback culture are not just empty phrases
What particularly surprised me was the feedback culture. It is not only accepted but encouraged to talk openly about challenges – regardless of whether you are new, not from a technical background or simply have a different opinion. I am also asked for my opinion when a new component is being built and there are different approaches to its design. Exchange is extremely important and is what makes us a team.
3. Nerd talk is simply part of the job
At first, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to participate in conversations due to my lack of knowledge in the field of software. And even today, there are still sometimes conversations at lunch where everyone is just nerding out and I don't understand a word. But that's exactly why I love it here, because you can tell that it's not just the job that motivates people to do their work, but that the work is a passion for the employees. And we have enough topics of conversation in the team that I can join in on (e.g. warning: insider knowledge: islands).
4. Curiosity is more important than prior knowledge
I quickly realised that you don't have to know everything, but being interested helps enormously. If you keep an open mind, ask questions and are willing to think things through, you will quickly find your place here. Our monthly hackathons in particular demonstrate this very clearly to me: everyone can contribute their ideas, try out new things and let their creativity run wild, even if they don't have much prior knowledge in the field. It's really motivating to see how much scope there is to help shape things. And best of all, some of these approaches are also quite helpful in the actual project work.
My conclusion
A software company is not exclusively a place for technology enthusiasts. It is a place for people who like to think, learn and develop something together – regardless of their background.
I am glad that I took the plunge – and can only say: you don't have to be a programmer to find your place in the tech world.
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