Interview with developer

Vlad Tolmachov:

Path to Tech Lead

Interview with developer: Path to Tech Lead

This month at Etcetera, we're celebrating our developer Vlad's promotion to Tech Lead in the team. We've been together for a cool 6 years, and Vlad totally embodies our values and vibes. Our team's approach is simple: first, take on the responsibilities, then the title. Vlad's a perfect example! We snagged a quick interview with Vlad, and we hope it inspires you to chase your own goals and career growth. Because, you know, there are no limits to greatness, only in your mind.

There are no limits to greatness, only in your mind.

Q: What position did you join the agency with and what experience did you have?

A: It was back in April 2018. I joined as a Fullstack Developer.

Q: What were your expectations at that time?

A: After 6 years of office work, I was looking for independence 🙂 Freelancing meant I could work from anywhere, anytime, and without a fixed schedule. I planned to travel and work 🙂

Q: How did those plans go? Did it work out?

A: Partially. Remote work allowed me to move from Zaporizhzhia to Kyiv, and now to Lviv. We traveled abroad for workations. But leisure travel wasn’t really possible due to the pandemic, and now, the war. Hoping to travel more post-war.

Q: What were your most interesting projects? Any memorable ones?

A: The most interesting project is still ongoing, but nearing completion.

Since December 2020, I’ve been working on creating a control panel for the streaming platform Wowza. It’s been an incredible experience, with many challenges and complexities. We had to quickly learn new things and dive into libraries and even programming languages we hadn’t used before.

Q: Fascinating! Can you tell us more about it? How did you solve those issues?

A: I had no experience with streaming video, so I had to research that. We also developed a custom module for Wowza, which required diving into Java. We also created additional libraries in Python, which was new to me for this project. But with enthusiasm and determination, I tackled it all and now have a few cool skills in my toolkit.

Q: Did you face any challenges during your time at the agency? How did you handle them? What helped?

A: Freelancing means every project can be a challenge (if you don’t choose the same typical projects, of course). So, almost every time, I have to learn something new: be it a plugin or a new framework. But for me, it’s cool and always pushes me to self-improve!

Q: What has been your motivation for growth during this time?

A: Self-improvement. In the developer profession, it’s the most important, in my opinion. New technologies, programming languages, and interesting tools emerge daily, which can help and facilitate your work. So, a good developer always has to keep up with trends and keep learning new things 🙂

..a good developer always has to keep up with trends and keep learning new things

Q: What do you think has changed the most about you during your time at the agency?

A: Probably, I’ve become more organized, and maybe, more demanding 🙂

When you work in an office, usually, someone is constantly supervising you and your work. In freelancing, you have to control yourself and the quality of your work to maintain professionalism.

Also, for several years, I’ve been working as a team lead on some projects, so now, I also have to monitor my colleagues 🙂

Q: How do you feel about your new position? What are your responsibilities now?

A: Positive feelings.

I’ve been doing almost all the duties before from time to time, helping in the agency’s development 🙂

Now, my responsibilities include:

Finding technical solutions in the pre-sales phase of communication with the client
Technical consultation for team members
Technical evaluation of new candidates for the team
Technical support for internal agency tools
Implementation of new processes related to our technical part (git, dev, etc)
Assisting in the agency’s development

Q: Awesome! That’s very inspiring! What’s your next step?

A: I don’t know yet. I haven’t thought about it 🙂

Q: In your opinion, is it better to work independently through Upwork or with an agency?

A: It’s really individual. Some find it easier to work independently.

In my opinion, working with an agency has its advantages. When you work independently, you have to be your own manager, developer, accountant, and sometimes even a designer 🙂 (The list can go on)

An agency takes care of many of these issues because usually, there are professionals who can help with client communication, and technical specialists who can suggest the best way to solve a particular task.

Q: What specific benefits have you gained from collaborating with Etcetera?

A: The opportunity to work with great people who are big pros in their field. These are friends!

Before the war, there was the opportunity to participate in workations and not just work together, but also relax together after work in different countries 🙂

Q: What advice would you like to give to all freelancers?

A: First of all, take care of yourself, don’t burn out. And don’t be lazy to enthusiastically learn something new for yourself because self-improvement is a very important thing in our profession 🙂

..don't be lazy to enthusiastically learn something new for yourself..

Here you can read Vlad’s tips on using AI in development.