Wellu's career story: From chef to coder

However, the career opportunities in web technologies were not yet recognized back then as they are now, at least not in the small town where Wellu was from. "The Web was so young back then that my guidance counselor didn’t even recommend IT as a career path. Also in my own mind, IT was more about computer maintenance, assembling components, etc., than about making software."

For lack of better information, Wellu decided to study another passion of his and became a professional chef.

Through the kitchen to IT

After a few years as a chef in various roles from dishwasher to chef, Wellu started thinking about a career change.

"I enjoyed my job and my colleagues, but the content of the work was a bit of a problem. I didn't like the managerial aspects of my job, the low pay, and the long hours. That's when I decided to change my field, but I didn't yet know what I wanted to study."

Two different events led to the choice of IT as a new career path. "My colleagues at the restaurant had noticed that I was quite handy with computers. I was put part-time on a team to maintain the company's website and information screens, I also analyzed a lot of data for menu planning, etc. That's when I started thinking that it might be nice to move into office work full-time."

The second introduction came when a friend of Wellu's started a new business for which he needed a website. "I told him I had done websites when I was younger and suggested I could do one for him too. My friend got excited and we got down to business."

The friend had a fond wish, for which Wellu is still grateful. "My friend had just been one of the first to buy a smartphone and realized that soon everyone would be browsing the internet on their phones. We took a mobile first approach even then and it has been very useful in my career."

"At the same time, a customer of a friend of mine who worked in a marketing agency tipped me off that CSS was a language worth learning. There is a shortage of people who know it. Flash was slowly dying out at the time and CSS and JavaScript was replacing a lot of things that had previously been done in Flash. It was through these events that I applied for and got my degree in IT."

Head start to work

Wellu got his first IT job in his second year of studies when a fellow student from the same course got a job at a small startup.

"He told me the company was looking for another front-end developer at the same level, and advised me to apply. I did my CV and website on a weekend and a few weeks later I started working there. I then took a year of hiatus from school because there was so much work to do."

"Eventually I managed to finish school while working and burnt myself out in the process. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone," laughs Wellu.

Career on the rise at Houston

After spending almost seven years in his first programming job, a wall came up in his career development. Specializing in e-commerce, his previous job didn't offer the opportunity to learn for example cloud technologies, which are now a daily part of Wellu's job.

"I applied to Houston because I wanted variety and opportunities to grow. In consulting, the opportunities for development are practically limitless."

"I've been able to do a lot more back-end development as well as front-end. The biggest bonus has been that I've been able to learn cloud services for infrastructure. I'm also currently studying for my AWS Solutions Architect certification. Houston has allowed me to develop my professional skills beyond e-commerce and content management systems, which means I can now design services much more holistically, starting with the infrastructure."

Wellu's career at Houston recently culminated in his promotion to Principal Consultant.

"The Principal role means I can design services more holistically and also support sales as a technical expert in the bidding process."

Customer satisfaction, colleagues, and continuous learning create purpose

The best things about Wellu's job are the people he works with and the continuous learning process.

"The best thing about working at Houston is the people I work with. I'm also a lifelong learner, so I'm motivated by the continuous self-improvement I get to practice here. In addition to the self-study days that Houston offers, I also spend much of my free time learning. Last fall I completed the Accessibility certification and currently I'm studying for my next AWS certification."

What makes the work meaningful is improving the business for customers and making people's jobs easier. "The tools we make have a big impact on businesses and their employees. They make it easier for companies to achieve their goals, whether it's improving profitability or making work easier. Every time a new website or feature goes live and people adopt it, it feels just as good each time."