Journey from Plumbing to Web Development in 1 year — interview with Ivan Aimufua
By: Matthew Weeks
Tags: Web Development, Software Development, Career Advice, Podcast, Interview

Ivan Aimufua is a self-taught web developer who transitioned from plumbing to learning coding including Python and JavaScript. He shifted industries as he didn’t enjoy plumbing and decided to do something related to computers. He was convinced he wanted to code after watching some tutorials online and being fascinated by what Python and JavaScript can accomplish. After a year of learning, he decided to try his luck and landed his dream job at Punchcard Systems. He is currently working at the company and collaborates with entrepreneurs to build software products from ideation to completion.

Ivan shared how learning coding and working in a professional set-up are two different things. Early on in his career, he observed that everyone writes code differently, and found that learning how to work with others is an experience in itself.

You can watch the entire interview here, or read the summary below 🙂

Communication is the Core of Everything

Sharing his experience over the years Ivan revealed that initially, the problems he faced were as minor as pushing himself to write code. But, as he grew in his profession, the problems became more complex. One thing that he learned was that communicating and understanding people is equally important to being able to code. He is currently working on improving this trait to better understand the clients, their problems, and creating a solution for them.

Challenges Involved in Working with Clients

Moreover, he is also learning to create a balance between being accommodating to the clients and being realistic about the deadlines that they have set for the project. At times clients introduce new ideas mid-project and they want those incorporated in it. These ideas cannot be completely rejected but at the same time the scope of the project and the timeline that they are following need to match up with these new ideas. Ivan believes navigating this aspect of the job is a skill that every developer needs to master after they learn to code and get the job.

Ivan also explained the mechanism that they follow at work to make their work and communication efficient. For every sprint, they begin with the design team creating some mock-ups in Figma for the clients. They get some wireframes made to show them to the clients and get their feedback. This process is done before the sprint planning meeting. During the meeting, the features are prioritized from most important to least important and at the same time, changes are being made to the wireframes. So, before starting the project they have something functional to show to the clients that help them understand how their product or app would look like and how users can use it. This way if there are some changes suggested by the client they can be made before moving further in the development process. Adopting this approach saves them a lot of time and effort.

How to Balance Work and Life While Working Remotely?

It has been a difficult year and everyone is working remotely to stay safe during the pandemic. Ivan’s company has sessions that are essentially ice breakers during their weekly meetings where they talk about something other than work. They also arrange virtual gaming and social events once a month to engage everyone providing them a support system and the opportunity to socialize with their colleagues.

Advice for Aspiring Programmers

Ivan believes in reaching out when stuck and this is what he advised aspiring developers. Reaching out, getting different perspectives from others is a great approach as everyone solves a problem differently so, it could be a good learning experience. Moreover, he recommends consuming as much relevant material as possible including reading books, blogs, and watching tutorials. There is ample material available online, and he believes it is very helpful. He also laid emphasized on mental health, not pushing yourself too hard, taking a break every once in a while, but putting in the necessary hard work.

If you enjoyed this summary, please check out the entire interview!