Hello and welcome again! “Meet the team” is the column in our blog in which we meet you with part of the talents of the amazing team of iCard. Because the people from the team are the ones who turn good ideas into quality solutions, moments together into unforgettable memories, and successes into something to be proud of.
We want to introduce our first double interview, in which we will meet you with two best friends from our team – Dyanko Shopov (web programmer) and Steliyan Petrov (software developer). Although they were both born and raised in the same city (Dobrich), they met at the iCard office in Varna. Since then, they have been working side by side for almost 5 years.
Over time, Dyanko and Steliyan become close friends who share their projects at work and also most of their free time. Find out what else they told us:
What do you think is the most valuable quality of the other оne?
Steliyan: Dyanko is a true specialist. Also, whenever I need something, he would help me without thinking. This is what I like about him – you can rely on him in all kinds of situations.
Dyanko: I would say the same for Steliyan as he will always be here for you because he is a good friend. The best three words that I would use to describe him are communicative, intelligent, and skilful.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Steliyan: Our favourite thing to do together is to go camping with our company. Every summer we are doing it at least three times. We have been to Shkorpilovtsi, Krapets, and other places. We like to be on the beach so we can combine camping with the sea. We go to Shkorpilovtsi quite often.
Dyanko: Yes, Shkorpilovtsi is the place where we constantly go camping, because the beach there is very long and always clean.
Do you have any hobbies?
Steliyan: I have two guitars that I like to play, unfortunately, I rarely find time for it. Right now, I only do it once a week. I’m also practising folk dances for years and I love playing video games.
Dyanko: Video games are my hobby too, but I haven’t been able to play often lately. I’m also a big football fan. I like to be with friends at home and watch football together.
What is your dream destination?
Steliyan: I really miss travelling. Before the pandemic, my girlfriend and I travelled outside Bulgaria every summer. Now I haven’t been out of the country for 2 years. I want to visit many places around the world, but I want to go to Japan the most. My dream is to visit a small village to see the ancient culture and their monasteries and monks, not a big and developed city.
Dyanko: I have a whole list of places that I dream of visiting. Of the countries in Europe, I first want to go to Spain, Italy, and France. Then comes the Caribbean (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, The Bahamas), South America (Brazil) and Asia (southern countries). Steliyan and I are planning to share some of these trips.
And what is your biggest dream?
Dyanko: My biggest dream is to visit all the places I have mentioned, but to be able to do it whenever I want and for as long as I want.
Steliyan: The places which I want to visit are also one of my biggest dreams. As Dyanko said, I hope that soon we will be able to do it whenever we want and without an end date. Another of my dreams, however, is to have a big house with a yard where I can raise my family.
How did you decide to be a programmer?
Dyanko: I love football, and one day I decided to make my own website for sports predictions. That’s how my programming journey began, I read books and other sources to understand how things worked. The site wasn’t anything special, but thanks to it I was hired to my first job as a web developer. I studied and worked a lot and I manage to improve my skills.
Steliyan: I had decided to study medicine, but for one reason or another I was not accepted into the Medical University. I had decided not to miss a year and I started studying programming at the Technical University of Varna. I had never done this before and had no idea how things worked as I studied biology in high school and I had no idea how the things worked. I gained experience at the university and decided that this would be my job as well.
What does your work in iCard involve?
Dyanko: I am a front-end developer – once I receive a design, I use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to turn that prototype into a real web page or a whole website. My work is connected with the way the customers see the content in the browser. We have to be sure that they look good on all screens (desktop, mobile) and in all browsers.
Steliyan: I use PHP and JavaScript. The functionality of the site depends on my work – how the clients are interacting with the elements, the movement of the elements, etc. I make sure that the data is received and transmitted correctly, as well as the information that is processed by the servers is transmitted correctly to them.
Dyanko: In general, I make the beautiful part of the site and Steliyan – the functionality. I would give the following example: if I build a house and paint it, he will install the water and electricity in it.
What do you like most about your work in the company?
Steliyan: The most interesting part is when you are given a complex task or project because it is difficult to figure out how to do it, but the satisfaction that comes after completing it is great. I like the feeling when I see that “completed” is written next to the task.
Dyanko: When the task is complicated and you come up with the solution yourself and choose the best way to do it – this is the feeling I like the most. iCard always strives to keep up with the latest trends, so our tasks are usually a challenge, but that’s how we learn to do everything new.
What is your best memory in the company?
Steliyan: Our team has grown a lot and we have countless good memories together. We are constantly joking about everything with each other, we often go out with colleagues and visit different places together. Really wonderful memories, so it’s hard for me to choose just one.
Dyanko: The atmosphere in our team is nice and we spend a lot of time together. I remembered one of the good moments in the company. At the summer party last year, I won an NFC key fob. I have never won draw prizes in my life. The key fob is great because a lot of people still don’t know you can pay with an accessory, and even the employees of the stores have asked me how it works.
Best memory together outside of work?
Dyanko: I love going camping the most – friends, beach, food, good memories. All of them are different and bring unforgettable memories.
Steliyan: Although I may repeat the answer to the previous question, I will say again that we have too many. Parties, gatherings with mutual friends, camping, going out after work, etc. Each experience is unique and I could not choose only just one of them. Now we are making plans to go camping this summer, but this time to the mountains instead of the beach.
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