Chase is a software engineer/app developer at Dreamfora who joined the team in 2019. (On April Fools' Day, in fact!) Today, we ask Chase a bunch of questions about his office routines, favorite work music and his experiences at Dreamfora. Read his interview below for all the nitty-gritty details!
Can you tell us a little bit about your daily routine? What do you do when you get to work?
I get up in the morning and usually head straight to the office. First, I drink a cup of coffee and binge on some snacks. Then, I go on Facebook, where I read newspapers, articles about self-improvement and posts from various tech communities to stay updated on current events. Afterwards, I spend most of my day working. In the evening, I spend time with my girlfriend. Our office is right on the way of her commute, so it’s very convenient for us to meet after work. Also, for three times a week, I study algorithms with a couple of friends online.
What has been your proudest accomplishment since joining Dreamfora?
I have two moments I’d like to share.
The first time would be when I was offered a position at Dreamfora. On my first day, the company sent my father a bouquet of flowers as a congratulatory gift. Later that evening, my father said, “I’ve never seen a company send their new employee’s family a bouquet of flowers before,” and told me to work hard at a company that treats its employees so well.
Another moment would be when we first distributed an app feature that I worked on. I had been working at Dreamfora for about 3 weeks by then, and it made me feel like a real software engineer. Looking back now, I think there are a lot of things I would do differently, but thankfully, the app still works well to this day. I can also tell with you confidence that many new and cool features are underway.
Indeed! What are some of the hardest and most enjoyable parts of working at Dreamfora?
Although Dreamfora has very flexible work hours, I find it hard to stick to a timetable. In college, I had an extremely irregular work schedule; sometimes, I’d stay up for 24 hours to work, and then sleep for the next 12 hours. I ended up growing an unhealthy habit of working myself to the limit, and then passing out to recharge. These days, I try to go to sleep early to accommodate my lifestyle to the company’s work schedule, but I still find it hard to settle down at night when there are so many things I could be doing!
Of course, this is just a minor complication. There are so many positive aspects about working at Dreamfora. Snacks, a lot of snacks, fast communication, a system based on mutual respect, great colleagues, a wonderful mentor, and the list goes on. I’m grateful, and happy here (for about 95% of the time).
It must be hard to focus on your work ALL the time. Do you listen to any music or podcasts as you code?
If I’m hooked, I tend to listen to the same song over and over again. Recently, I’ve been listening to “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” which is the opening song to Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995). I am also a fan of some songs by IU.
Any last words you would like to share to future software engineers and app developers?
It’s important to just try and create something. These days, I think it’s really easy for beginners to start out. There are a lot of websites that provide simple tutorials for programming and app development. I’d recommend that you follow through on one of these tutorials and finish creating a program by yourself!