Interview with a Code Enigma freelancer
Nicolas Liegaux
Intro
Nicolas is a freelancer here at Code Enigma. He’s working on changing the search server configuration from Solr to Elasticsearch on one Drupal 7 website, with a lot of items to index, which, in his own words, is ‘a lot of fun’ (we’ll take his word for it!).
Three interesting things about Nicolas
1. He can speak Japanese
2. He has an equal love for music and Italian food
3. He loves hiking in the French Alps or on GR tracks around France in the summer
How did you start a career in tech?
I’ve had a computer at home since a very early age (like the Amstrad CPC with tape loading that took 20 minutes). I discovered the internet, HTML, CSS2 and the web when I was in highschool. I later graduated from university with a degree in English, Japanese and Economics. At the time I was also building small websites in HTML, spending quite some time on IRC channels in my free time.
I quickly realized that I wanted to work in/on the web and started at a small company where I was doing small websites for customers like hotels, restaurants and NGOs. After three years I went on my own as an independent developer, and I’ve been doing that ever since!
What do you find hard about coding?
I would say sometimes the lack of documentation. When you’re documenting a strategic and creative process which is focused on clearly outlined goals, it makes life a lot easier.
What is your ideal development environment?
A powerful but light laptop using Linux (Ubuntu or another distribution), Docker, Git, VSCode or Vim (it would be great if I had the time to switch to it). Definitely two screens and a big desk where I can put all my coffee mugs!
What do you like most about freelancing for Code Enigma?
I’ve been with Code Enigma for three weeks now and it has been a great experience so far. I love the remote environment and the open source community spirit. I think it’s a great opportunity and challenge to learn so much more and be a better developer. The team has been very welcoming and supportive.
Thank you to Nicholas for telling us about your experience with us!
You can meet the rest of the Code Enigma team here.
