Here at Opinov8, Opinov8rs represent our culture. Cover Stories portray the richness within all of us, the differences that make us who we are. 

In the March edition, we interviewed Dmitriy B., our JS Developer, who is also a leader of one of the Opinov8 Communities  - Sports Community. He tells us about his career at Opinov8, how he works remotely and how sports activities help him manage his work-life balance.

Get to know Dmitriy a little more through this Cover Story and don’t miss the opportunity to join us and become a part of this gr8 adventure!

The first couple of weeks of remote work were really challenging due to self-organization and “fridge” issues 😅. But I pulled myself together and started running instead of the way to the office and back. That became my rescue.

What has your career path at Opinov8 been like? What did you change along the way to adapt to new projects?

My career path at Opinov8 started super exciting for me. I was enrolled in the new German project as a Senior HTML/CSS developer (I know, position name sounds unusual 😀). After 3 working days, our team went to Munich to undergo onboarding directly with the client. 

During the last few years, I have been working on 3 different projects. Each required specific skills and knowledge, but common approaches to adapt were quite similar since we are always using the same development methodology. So every time, adaptation went smoothly due to clear onboarding guidelines and great team cooperation.

Given how fast technology changes, how has your job evolved throughout the years?

Technology change rapidly, and you should always be well aware of the latest trends, especially in Front-End. I was fortunate to work on projects that were using cutting-edge approaches, and it always allowed me to improve my professional skills. I came to the company 2 years ago with a basic understanding of React JS, and now I’m happy that I started the Front-End mentoring practice (including React JS) and can share my knowledge with newcomers. 

What is the biggest challenge or most innovative project you and your teammates have had to face?

Definitely, the most challenging period was working with the Olympic games project. We have put on tight timelines, and the level of responsibility was enormous. We joined this project just a month before the final release, and we had to be super concentrated and cooperative. Moreover, the release day was right before my long vacation, so it was rather stressful at the moment. But we succeeded, and the benefits outweighed the cost.

What is your typical workday as a remote worker? How do you manage your time and productivity? 

I've never worked remotely before the Covid-19. So, the quarantine became the cause of me going remote. But, to tell the truth, I thought about it before.

The first couple of weeks of remote work were really challenging due to self-organization and “fridge” issues 😅. But I pulled myself together and started running instead of the way to the office and back. That became my rescue.

My typical workday now is quite similar to the office lifestyle. The only difference is that I’m going for a run and workout after every breakfast instead of being a part of the morning traffic. I’ve defined a schedule and try to follow it every day to prevent mess with self-management. I need to split my work into 40 - 60 min iterations to keep focus and avoid overload.

I believe that when working remotely you need to be even more punctual than in the office.

What do you consider to be the balance between your work and personal life, especially when working remotely? 

The most crucial things for me to keep a work-life balance are sport and dividing the day between working and nonworking time frames. Overall, I am happy with my work schedule now. I like that I can manage my time: start working earlier or later, be more active and do more workouts, and of course, spend more time with my family.

What do you most enjoy about sports activities, especially running? How long have you been running and how many events did you participate in? 

Running for me is like a meditation. It helps me to keep my mind clean. And it goes without saying that it is the perfect way to keep fit. My first run was 2 years ago, and since that moment, I’ve participated in 4 official sports events at different distances (5 km, 10 km, and 21 km).

Do you have any tips for staying motivated to run? What advice would you give to someone who wants to start but doesn’t know how?

I am the lead of the Sports Community in Opinov8. Since we have a very young and active team, we have many guys who adore sports as much as I do. Most of us work remotely, but we want to lead a social life, as in the pre “Covid Era”, so we decided to carry out various sports challenges. It’s easier to stay motivated when you need to compete with somebody (or with your “yesterday’s” self).

The first step is the hardest, they said. So, I would like to advise you to start and to find your motivation. Your contribution won’t give you a chance to give up. 

If you could say one thing to people who are just starting their careers as JS Developer, what would you say?

It won't be easy, but it is so interesting! Be patient, and it will pay you back with the results. Good luck, and enjoy your way.

As Dmitriy was saying, being a JS Developer is not easy, but it is really exciting. If you wanna join the JS Development team, don’t hesitate to check our open positions or send your CV to careers@opinov8.com