What degree did you study at university?
BEng. Mechanical Engineering (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
What is your role at Sanlam?
Digital Academy Trainee
Can you tell us why you chose this career?
I really love building things and programming has always been one of my interests. Choosing a career in this field helped me to follow my passion while learning more about a fascinating industry
What’s a typical day like in your job?
I always start my day with a coffee (black, no sugar)! Frist thing on the agenda would be daily stand up. Afterwards, I’d spend some time coding/working on my projects. I’d attend meetings thereafter, followed by lunch and then some more meetings. I’d end the day with some more coding/project work. After work I like to cool down by either going for a walk and listening to music/audiobooks or playing some games. As I’m more of a night owl, I choose to pursue my hobbies later on in the day.
What are the some of the highlights and challenges of your role?
Learning new technologies and how to use them is the highlight to my role. It’s so interesting to see all these innovative solutions which sparks my creative freedom to solve my problems in the best way possible.
My biggest challenge is dealing with the information overload of having to take in so many pieces of information and softwares.
How do you keep up to date with all the changes in your profession?
I ask many questions and gather opinions of subject matter experts in my field, their personal experience is often more valuable than any textbook learning. I also subscribe to niche tech enthusiasts on my social media which keep me updated with the newest developments. Often these videos/blogs would spark my curiosity and I would do my own research on specific topics
What do you enjoy doing for fun outside of the office?
I have a wide range of hobbies including cooking, reading, playing videogames and guitar. Most often you can find me reading, if I’m not already in the kitchen, that is.