I was born in Moscow, Russia in 1980, long ago enough to
remember USSR collapse and early versions of personal computers
(like ZX Spectrum and IBM PC 286) and still not so long ago to be
part of the generation that can't imagine life without mobile
phones and skype.
I am very proud that I have graduated the best russian technical
university - Bauman
Moscow Technical University in 2003 with masters degree.
It took six whole years to get the degree, but it has already
paid back: uni really taught me how to solve complex problems,
both in IT and in real life. It's impossible to get all
knowledge you need in uni, so the best part was to learn how to
learn everyday and make a research to get the job done.
After graduation I stayed in university and took another three
years of post-graduate study in computer sciences. Now my major
point of interest (that became a thesis subject) was global
distributed software development and the methodologies to improve
global team efficiency.
I started working just as soon as the russian economy showed
signs of recovery after collapse in 1998. That was a time when to
get the job you had to know everything, from hardware and software
programming to switchboard maintenance. Those years were hard and
stressful, but proved to me that anything can be done with
sufficient time and persistence.
Mid-2000s brought some changes to my life: more time after uni
graduation, mature technologies and fast internet and ability to
concentrate on software developent in milder economic climate. I
was also dealing with company's partners in other
countries, like SurfControl in the UK (developer of
content security solutions).
In 2007, chasing new opportunities, I moved to the UK and never
regretted about that since then. The whole idea of working in a
completely different environment and with new people and culture is
very inspiring. Plus this put me to the test - whether I had enough
internationally accepted skills or not. Luckily it turned out that
I had, but no time to relax. Global recession is still here and
especially in these conditions I always have to be at least a
little bit smarter and stonger than someone else to offer the best
product or service to the client or employer. And that's what makes
the progress. What makes me better. Everyday.