AOE Behind the Screens: Frontend Developer Klara

The idea to become a developer came to Klara only after her studies (spoiler: not computer science!). Today she does frontend development at AOE and, after more than a year, is still more than happy in her role and in her team. Here in "AOE Behind the Screens" she tells you about how she managed to realize her dream and what developing software has to do with translating.

In this new blog series, various AOE employees will regularly talk about their work, their careers and everything else that keeps them busy. In this way, we want to give you an insight into different roles and tasks and into everyday life at AOE.

Frontend developer Klara kicks things off this week. Read more about the person "behind the screens"!

What do you do at AOE and what does your typical day look like?

I'm a frontend developer working remotely. I come to the office in Wiesbaden about once a month. By the way, since I don't live in Wiesbaden, the possibility to work remotely was an important criterion for me.

Usually, my workday starts at 7:30 a.m. with checking the scrum board; my colleagues often start later. That's not a problem though, because we're self-organized. Whoever likes, then meets for a coffee talk, after which we have a classic daily. Until lunch break I work on my tasks, the afternoon usually consists of a mixture of meetings, co-programming with colleagues or simply solving problems together.

Besides programming for the project, I also volunteer in a few other areas, such as organizing and moderating the AOE Weekly and mentoring a new colleague. In addition, I regularly educate myself with training videos, articles and online courses. And of course I always make time for petting my cats!

How did you become a developer?

My background isn't that typical for a developer: I originally wanted to become a translator, so I studied English linguistics and computer linguistics, not something like computer science. For my first job, I needed to know HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Finding this fascinating anyway, I taught myself all that on the side. The idea that I could actually work as a developer came to me only then.

I learned about AOE through a friend: She has an acquaintance who apparently has always been stoked about working here. One look at the website and it was clear to me: I want to try that! Of course, I didn't have a lot of programming knowledge or experience, so I continued to educate myself on the side and applied to various companies.

Despite several attractive job offers – also closer to my home – the choice was not difficult: I wanted to join AOE! Because of the recommendation from my personal environment, the benefits and also because of the positive kununu reviews. And I've never regretted this decision.

Even getting started was great, although my team works completely remotely. But my colleagues were always happy to help and answer any questions, they did a great job of training me.

Your greatest insight from working as a developer?

I used to think programming was mainly a chunk of math, and math really wasn't my favourite activity. Today I know that's not the case at all. It's actually like learning a new language – so eventually, I became a translator anyway.

Any tips for people who want to become developers?

If this is what you want, go for it! All you need is the will to dig into the subject, then you can definitely do it – even without a "fitting" education. Ultimately, you can still learn it all.

Curious? We're always on the lookout for talents!

Vacancies