Evgenija, or for us known as Gea, is one of those Data Masters members that gives a positive vibe at the office, something that is undeniably visible at a first glance. Her previous working experience involves working as a developer at a big pharmaceutical company in Macedonia and then going to Amsterdam to work as a data engineer for a company in the Financial Services industry. But finally, she decided to come back to Skopje and a year later she became a member of our team.
Our People & Culture
Gea’s Data Masters story started two years ago in 2020, and it’s filled with interesting personal moments: she became a mother and got to work on the same project with her husband Stefan while working as a Data Architect on telco projects at our company. But, this is just the short version. We’ll let her fill in the details 🙂
Education and previous work experience
Starting the story from my high school days, for as long as I can remember I had an interest in mathematics and physics. I even taught classes and helped students with math back in my college days. Because of my love for those subjects, I decided to enroll in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering & Information Technologies (FEEIT), majoring in Computer System Engineering and Automatics. When I graduated, I decided to take a break, and while on the break I started learning SQL online, thinking somehow that would help me in the future. To be candid, it did help me consolidate my career path, having a couple of internships along the way, and finally getting employment as a Database developer and designer in a big pharmaceutical company.
This kickstarted my career in the “data world”. My next career step was an international one and I’m really grateful for it. Working in the Netherlands (Amsterdam) as a Data Engineer in a company that offers financial services gave me a different, unique perspective, allowing me to encounter a completely different work and life culture. After that, I decided to come back to Macedonia to share my newly acquired knowledge and valuable experience, which led me to where I am today, working as a Data Architect at Data Masters.
First Impressions of Data Masters
I joined Data Masters in 2020, at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. When I look back, I remember feeling like I reached the maximum at my previous position and wanted a new challenge in my career. I wanted a chance for progress and professional development, and Data Masters offered me exactly that, so I was very happy to join the team. On the very first day at the office, I felt the great atmosphere and collegiality (and I still do feel it every day). Unfortunately, in the following period, as a consequence of the global pandemic, the whole team mostly had to work from home, but even though we weren’t in the office, the intuitive onboarding process and integration into the team were quite easy. My goal was to exit my comfort zone, learn new technologies and work on fun projects.
Working From Home
As I mentioned before, I started here at Data Masters in the middle of a global pandemic, there were lockdowns, and the only option was to work from home. Everybody had to adapt to the new situation, and in the beginning, I had doubts about working remotely. I quickly realized that it was not an obstacle, because even online we had excellent cooperation. After a while, I learned that the possibility to work remotely is really convenient. There are many positives, one of them being the ability to fully focus with no distractions. Also, one of the projects that I worked on required more flexible working hours, and WFH was beneficial for that. Besides that, saving on commute time and money is a plus. Lastly, the remote work allowed me to manage my home responsibilities, and for me most importantly, to spend more time with my son Vedran.
Projects in Data Masters
Since I started working here, I have been focused on working mainly on Telco projects, but also have worked on projects for companies in the retail sector. My responsibilities include designing and developing the data warehouse architecture, data modeling, and processes for extracting, transforming, and loading data into the enterprise data warehouse and data marts. I work closely with clients and I believe that daily communication with the client is very important for a successful collaboration, and conversing about the challenges is beneficial while looking for possible solutions. I can say that I have learned a lot in this field of working with data and I am happy to share the knowledge and experience with the team that I lead. As I recently returned from maternity leave, I am now ready for new challenges and hope to work on many new exciting projects.
Teamwork and Mentorship Process
The knowledge transfer between colleagues in Data Masters is what makes this a great place to work. Due to the dynamics of the projects, all colleagues have to quickly adapt to new challenges, and the conditions and methods of communication in the company are set up in such a way that this is a seamless process. Everyone unselfishly shares their experiences and perspectives about any part of the job, and this is not just between teammates working on the same project. Colleagues working on other projects pass on their knowledge with presentations to all of us, sharing details and experiences of what they have learned, what obstacles they encountered, and how they surpassed them. From everyone at Data Masters, you can hear and learn something new every day.
Data Masters strongest suits
Again I have to refer back and talk about cooperation with colleagues. Many experienced seniors work in the company, but also many young and ambitious people with different educational backgrounds. Something new can be learned from all of them.
Expansion in Portugal
Lisbon is now making a name for itself as Europe’s Silicon Valley. Having a presence in Western Europe with our newly opened office in Portugal opens doors for new opportunities for business growth, partnerships, and process improvement. It also provides the employees with new opportunities for learning, advancement, and career development, as well as a chance to travel (or even relocate) and work closely with international clients. Having moved to and worked in Amsterdam, being part of a culturally diverse workplace, and seeing other cultures’ practices, values, traditions, and mentality gave me new perspectives in life. I believe the new office in Portugal will offer a chance for everyone at Data Masters to have the same experience.
Future Plans
Due to the diversity of projects and clients within the company, there are many opportunities to work with different types of technologies. I would like to master new technologies to keep up with the latest trends. With the world slowly migrating to cloud environments, my goal for the following period is to deepen my knowledge of cloud technologies and help clients transition to the cloud by designing and implementing cloud computing solutions.
Balancing work and family life
My time is organized down to the second. I can without a doubt say that, as a working mom, I manage to balance family life and work very well, without suffering any consequences for either. Naturally, the help of loved ones is crucial here, and of course, I have to mention my husband Stefan, who is an important link in the whole process.
The knowledge-sharing mindset between the employees is one of the most important components in the Data Masters growth and success in the past four years.
If you want to work on world-class projects with experienced professionals and you are not afraid to make mistakes (we learn and grow together), you are the perfect fit for us.
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