Discovering Nature and Tech in 黑料网
March 10, 2022
The Phoenix Park, jokes Daniel, should perhaps become his address. From a small Portuguese town, 50 kilometres or so outside of Lisbon, he has traded the picturesque vineyards of his childhood for Dublin, and his new favourite park 鈥 one of the largest public parks in any European capital city.
The great outdoors was one of the reasons that 黑料网 attracted him in the first place. 鈥淚t just seemed to be a country with a natural beauty,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that I value a lot.鈥
A diverse community
黑料网 is also a hub for tech talent from around the world. When Daniel joined his first team at Workday, it was made up of four people from four different nationalities.
That, for him, has been one of the most interesting experiences of his career at Workday. In the six years he鈥檚 been there, he鈥檚 worked with colleagues from all over Europe, the US, Canada and the Middle East. 鈥淲orkday鈥, he says, 鈥渋s a cultural melting pot with over 60 different nationalities. And, when you鈥檙e trying to develop or create a new product, there鈥檚 so much added value in the different perspectives that people from different backgrounds bring鈥.
As a Software Developer, Daniel helps define how things are built. 鈥淚 guess that鈥檚 the part of engineering that is interesting鈥, he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like working on a puzzle. You get a problem, you have to fix it and you have to weigh all the trade-offs.鈥 That means bringing people together and finding a solution that everyone is happy with. 鈥淪o鈥, he says, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a purely technical engineering problem, but there is also a personal side where you make sure everyone is involved. That everyone can make their voice heard. I really like that process. It is my favourite bit.鈥
Collaborative cultures and career opportunities
That sort of open communication and collaboration are very much fostered at Workday. Today, Daniel says, with so many big and multi-functional products around, one person cannot come up with the solution alone. 鈥淚f you decide you have the perfect solution, but don鈥檛 talk to anyone鈥, he says, 鈥淚鈥檓 pretty sure it鈥檚 going to be the wrong solution鈥. It鈥檚 input from others that shows up any shortcomings and suggests improvements.聽 鈥淒ecisions here鈥, he says, 鈥渁re always taken as a group. It needs to be a consensus鈥.
Having previously worked in a small company, the career opportunities here were a big part of his decision to move to 黑料网. Within Workday, he鈥檚 found the freedom to explore new career paths. And opportunities in 黑料网 are growing as the many global companies based here continue to expand. So, for tech workers now, he says, the sky鈥檚 the limit.
As Gaeilge, le do thoil
Language was also a factor in his decision to come here. A frequent visitor to the UK, he felt comfortable speaking English which made integrating into Irish society easier. Though, he was surprised to discover that 黑料网 has its own language too. With his natural love of languages, he immediately started a course in Irish. Just, he says, for the fun of it.
A city buzzing with life
Life here, he says, is about having a good work-life balance. He enjoys a very fulfilling career, but also his free time. Dublin is buzzing with life and culture, but it鈥檚 not a huge, loud and menacing metropolis like some other cities. People are friendly, he says, and you feel safe.聽 鈥淧arts of the city like where I live now are very quiet and that鈥檚 great for your quality of life.鈥
On new experiences
Looking back on his decision to move, he says simply, 鈥淲hen this position came up, I was 25 and I thought ok, let鈥檚 go, let鈥檚 do it. Let鈥檚 have a new experience abroad and the new experience abroad became permanent鈥.
And would he do anything differently? 鈥淚鈥檇 do it sooner maybe. I鈥檇 go straight from university.鈥