Blog ala Vidar

First time I met Aleksandr was my first visit to Klaipeda, Lithuania. He was kind enough to pick me up at the airport in Palanga (about 45 minutes by car), even though it was late at night. Before I met him, he had been on my team at Omega AS, and from day 1 I knew we’d be good friends. Aleksandr has been my guide every time I’ve been in Lithuania, taking me EVERYWHERE, helping me buy boxers (yes, believe it or not, this is REALLY hard to find when you’re out of clean ones) and generally just being awesome! Aleksandr joined Omega in 2006 as a trainee while finishing his studies. He finished these 1,5 years ago, and has been working with PIMS in the Products-team since then.

What did you study?
I’ve been studying Computer Science at Klaipeda University for six years. I have defended the thesis “Efficiency of database table’s indexes” for my bachelor and “Implementation of decision making process’ rules model in a software system based on models transformation” for the master degree. I got excellent grades on both – true story 🙂
Studies were mainly held at the faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics; so you can imagine how many additional “important” subjects did we have: ecology, math of all various types and even social behavior deviation 🙂 Of course, I don’t remember much of what I’ve been taught, but I’m grateful to all my tutors for helping me master the main skill – skill of studying on my own.

What’s the biggest difference between being a trainee and a full-time employee in Omega UAB?
Trainee position in UAB is a dream job. After passing the standard Certification Program you are normally given some real projects to work with, however you are free to use part of your working time for exploring how things work. I came to Omega with some basic theoretical knowledge and learnt pretty much everything in practice. Many thanks to Vidar – he spent much time and effort with us trainees.
I still “google” a lot, but now I don’t have enough time to go deep into details – that’s the main difference.

At work, what’s in and what’s out of your comfort zone?
I’m a kind of a SQL guy, if you like. Anything directly related to SQL Server is what I really like working with, especially when it comes to tricky data-model questions and realization. I believe that well modeled and strictly implemented database integrity is a basis of any system of a perfect sound. There is so much to learn in the field; therefore I’ve started preparing myself for Microsoft exams.
I’m not a Web-guy for sure. I guess Web is the future, but at the moment I do not like working with web-apps.

You’re good at focusing on your projects. What’s your secret?
There is no secret – I like what I do and I do it with all responsibility. My projects are most often quite interesting and challenging. When your job is interesting and gives you satisfaction – that’s all you need to do it well. Even if I happen to work with some routine tasks, I always try making it interesting for myself.

You like taking pictures. Any favorite genre(s)?
Oh, yeah – I like the process of taking pictures. Especially when you are lucky enough to “catch” the right moment or emotion. I am always happy when I succeed in sharing the mood of the moment via a picture.
I was planning to organize something similar to a photo-club, which guys are having in Ølensvåg. Still have a desire for it, so – coming soon 🙂

Take a look at Aleksandr’s flickr album here.