Jan Luxemburk: “Working for a start-up showed me new approaches”
They say opportunity waits for no one — except maybe for Jan Luxemburk+, a young developer from Prague, who got his startup job by volunteering at a conference and is currently studying in the US with all costs covered.
During your studies at the Czech Technical University in Prague you also worked as a front-end developer for Avocode, a Czech startup with an international presence. How did you manage to do both?
I think it is quite common for the students at my faculty to work during their studies. One can either study hard to get the best grades or start working as soon as possible. Both will leave you with little free time, so it was easy for me to decide to do the latter.
I started working during the second year of my undergraduate study. The company was called Softec and it was a software-consulting corporation where I was recommended by a friend. But I already knew at that time that I wanted to leave for the US, so my idea was to try different working environments before I leave. Avocode as a startup was perfect for me.
What was the job interview process like?
It wasn’t an ordinary job interview. At that time, I volunteered at two conferences: WebExpo in Prague and ReactiveConf in Bratislava. I met Lenka from StarLift there and she introduced me to one of the Avocode founders.
We talked briefly at ReactiveConf — not only about me, but also about the company and its product, which is a collaborative environment for coders and designers, and what it is like to work there. And I thought it was a great opportunity!
I wasn’t hired immediately, however. I got an assignment I had to solve, a simple web todo application list.
How did you approach it?
The only requirement was to write it in React.js. At that point, I knew only the basics of React, so I spent a week learning it. What really helped me was that I already had a solid understanding of JavaScript. In the end, the guys at Avocode were happy with the solution and I got the job.
What did the work for Avocode give you?
I felt the different approach — there is no management per se, the company is led by three folks who are not that much older than me. Sure, working at a startup was a bit more hectic than at a corporation, but it’s great to see a lot of my friends working with me.
Apart from the environment, I wanted to work with JavaScript and get a lot of experience, which is exactly what Avocode allowed me to do.
I also liked that Avocode creates its own product, whereas my previous employers focused on software consulting and contracts. That made my work more meaningful.
You mentioned that you got the job while volunteering at ReactiveConf. Do you go to conferences a lot? What do you think is their primary asset for young developers?
Me being at the two conferences was quite a coincidence. I got to know about ReactiveConf only by finding its promotion sticker at the WebExpo conference.
I recommend going to conferences primarily for the networking — I mean, it worked pretty well in my case! The talks and presentations are less important as most of the stuff can be found online, for example on Reddit or Hackernews.
Generally, I think people tend to exaggerate the need for learning new cutting-edge technologies, and it seems that conferences fixate on that.
You’ve left for a year-long study stay at a university in Kansas, USA. How did you get that opportunity, and what are your expectations?
It was much easier than I had thought! The Czech Technical University has a long list of exchange agreements with universities around the world and the demand for studying abroad is surprisingly not that big. Students are selected by their study performance, English proficiency and a motivation letter.
I decided to go to the USA mainly because I want to improve my English and the Kansas State University has favorable financial conditions — I’ll have the tuition, accommodation and food covered. I’ll learn more stuff, master English, travel a lot and have fun — what’s not to like about that?
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