Enigma Placements: Pietro’s year as a Software Developer

Hi Pietro! So, tell us what are you currently studying?

A: I am studying Computer Science and Software Engineering at Newcastle University.

What attracted you to a career in web development?

A: I was motivated to study web development at the age of 14. I looked up to business owners such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos who initially built Paypal and Amazon when they were first creating and now those businesses have become some of the biggest online companies in the world. This motivation pushed me to start a web development side business in Secondary school where I made websites for local businesses in my local town. This further interested me in the endless possibilities of what you are able to build/do in web development.

Q. What has been the coolest project you’ve worked on at Enigma?

A: By far the best project at Enigma I was able to work on was the My Childs Art Spring campaign towel Preview. This required me to create algorithms to compute the size of any number of squares to be fitted inside a towel preview for the website, additionally allowing the client to customize the positioning of the individual pieces or artwork on the towel.

Q: What has been the most valuable skill you have developed during your time at Enigma?

A: The most valuable skill by far I have learnt at Enigma is Resilience. Most of the projects at Enigma were challenging but Enigma taught me to break up complex problems into smaller little problems to approach individually. This approach made me comfortable with the idea that my software won't always work the first time, and taught me that by abstracting the problems and approaching them in a different manner -  it will eventually lead me to solve the issue.  I have seen my coding skills improve dramatically over the course of my placement, due to the mentoring I was able to have and as a result of the complexity of the projects I was tasked with.

Q: How have you found the culture here at Enigma?

A: I have really enjoyed working at Enigma, the open workspace is very modern and as a result it proves to be a very nice working environment. The staff at Enigma are all super welcoming and always willing to help provide guidance with issues you are facing. On top of this Enigma holds great and well organised social events, and I've joined a couple of these including GoKarting and I also got the opportunity to hold my own darts event.

Q: What lessons have you learnt over the past year?

A: One of the main lessons I have learnt over the year is to not limit yourself as a developer to certain technologies. The technologies in web development are constantly changing with new things coming out every month. I used to fall into the habit of learning a technology and then closing myself off to new technologies. However I have found it to be super beneficial to keep up-to-date with the new technologies, as they allow me to explore new concepts and frameworks in web development and benefiting my knowledge of the industry.

Q: How would you summarise your placement year at Enigma? 

A: My placement at Enigma has been really beneficial for me. Over the year, I have learnt loads from new frameworks, languages, security practices and how to work in a team to deliver a project. I was also given the opportunity to come back after I have finished my last year of uni, which I am super excited about as it allows me to continue working in an industry I am passionate about!

Interested in a career at Enigma? Check out our careers page here