From Internship and Master Thesis Co-Mentorship to a Permanent Position at IBM IX
Tags: programming, graphql, webdev, webservices
Published: 2022-05-27 12:10:48

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<h2>Hello world</h2>
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I'm Jurica Migač, an Java Web Developer working as Adobe Experience Manager at IBM iX. I would like to share my experience of getting a full-time job at IBM iX after graduating from the Faculty of Organisation and Informatics. Through the excellent collaboration between the company and university, I was able to link both my internship and master thesis topic with the company onboarding.

Every student faces a struggle to find an organization that will provide them with an accommodating and friendly environment to begin their professional career in the ICT sector. IBM iX was my first choice of employers to apply to for the backend developer internship position. Passing the technical interview is the main task required to grab an offer for a full-time developer position at IBM iX. Going through an interview was an amazing experience. In the first part of the interview, the interviewer checks your technical competences. However, in a really relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Besides that, we talked about my previous experience and related project work. The interviewers also gave me a great intro to the technology stack I would be working within IBM iX.

After starting my internship, I was offered a list of research topics I could use for my master thesis. The master thesis was proposed to the faculty by IBM iX. There is a well-defined process for the internship and master thesis, where each student gets an additional technical mentor from the company. The master thesis is also a benefit for the company in gathering and increasing internal knowledge. "GraphQL and RESTful web services in Spring and Adobe Experience Manager" was the research topic that I selected for my master thesis. This defined the stack in which I would like to expand my knowledge and specialise further. GraphQL and Adobe Experience Manager were terms that represented something new and unknown to me. Learning about these and presenting my research (master thesis) within IBM iX and to the Faculty wouldn't have been possible without the great support from my iX technical mentor. IBM iX has an excellent process for supporting new joiners with the necessary guidelines, knowledge transfer and mentorship from a senior colleague. Being a participant in this pilot project of undertaking a master thesis in the company resulted in an excellent grade for my master thesis. Having such collaboration with a local faculty gave me the opportunity to present my master thesis at the CASE 2022 conference. It was a great surprise for me as a fresh graduate to be called to present my research at a scientific conference. 

All in all, IBM iX has given me an amazing opportunity to be part of a diverse organisation. The additional opportunities which the company offers, changed my way of thinking, and solidified my approaches to certain things in my professional life. To all of you searching for challenges or new technologies to specialise in, look no further. No matter how hard the process can be, without taking any risks you would never be able to seize the opportunity which is just around the corner.