Viktoria Haapaoja is 26 years old and works as a full-stack developer in Karlskrona with a keen eye for UX / UI details. She started her journey at Softhouse two years ago as a recent graduate from BTH. Since then, she has grown into her role and honed her back-end and front-end skills.

The first time Viktoria came into contact with programming and graphic design was in high school. Since she has always had a great interest in writing and being creative, she started a blog to exercise her creativity. Like many other bloggers, she started with an appealing homepage and replenished it with creative content. But for Viktoria, this was not enough. During high school, she began designing blogs in HTML and CSS – which came to lead her on the path to seeking training in programming.

– After high school, it was time to apply to the university. The choice fell on Master of Science in Game and Software Engineering at BTH in Karlskrona because I wanted a master’s degree. After two years, however, I chose to drop out and change education to Web Programming. I realized that my interest in web design was what I should focus on to develop my creativity in web design and usability.

Victoria continues.

– I came in contact with Softhouse during a group project at the university where everyone was assigned a company to which they would develop a product. After the project ended, Softhouse hired me, and the rest is history. Of all the companies I visited, Softhouse stood out in the crowd and felt like a suitable workplace.

The best of both worlds

When Viktoria came to Softhouse, she had barely written any back-end code. She preferred to develop for the front-end but desired to create a product from sketch to a working view on a platform. It did not take her long before she realized the next step in her career.

– I like to use my creativity in graphic design, but I also want to participate in developing products. I realized that the role as a full-stack developer was my next goal, which is what I have become, says Viktoria.

Today, Viktoria is on assignment at NKT, where she helps to digitize their production out in the factory. She works daily with extracting data from databases to create user-friendly, eye-catching platforms. She enjoys working in both the back-end and front-end, getting the best out of both worlds. 

– I am happy to be involved in all stages of development, from creating mock-ups to programming all the parts together to get the best understanding of the entire flow. If the customer lets my creativity in UX / UI flow freely, I am really in my element, says Viktoria.

During her trip to Softhouse, Viktoria has had time to test several different tools and platforms. A combination that appeals to her a little extra is the framework Vue in front-end with Typescript and Bootstrap.

– I prefer to work with Vue and Typescript. Vue works well with various design frameworks to create pleasant and straightforward solutions. Currently, I am working with a combination of Vue, Typescript, and Bootstrap, which make it very easy to create a symmetrical and user-friendly platform.

Fellowship and flexibility are two key factors

Working as a consultant is both challenging and developing. As a consultant at Softhouse, you get to be involved in directing your work and challenging yourself – daily. We work with local and international companies active in various industries where you get a great variety of customer assignments and technical solutions as a consultant.

– The best thing about working as a consultant at Softhouse is the flexibility, and you get to work on different assignments with entirely different methods and tools. You always learn something new on various projects, and it never gets monotonous, says Viktoria.

When we ask Viktoria why she thrives so well at Softhouse, we get an answer that all employers would have been happy to hear from their employees.

– Community, lightness, and flexibility. All consultants at Softhouse have a great passion for delivering good products to our customers. We also make sure to take care of each other so that no one is left out and everyone can be as they are. The flexibility offered allows you to change the work environment as needed.

Victoria continues.

– Another good thing about Softhouse is that you can easily dialogue with your immediate boss. It does not feel like there are significant gaps between developers and leaders. Everyone talks to everyone regardless of status, and that’s exactly how I want it in my workplace.

From keyboards to artist paint brushes

When Viktoria is not coding or designing, she likes to spend time on renovations and gardening; growing vegetables and greenhouses is a new-age passion that has taken root since she became a homeowner.

– As a new owner of a house that is almost 100 years old it requires some work. I have also started culturing in recent years, mainly chili and tomatoes. Now, with a house and garden, the cultivation will be expanded to potatoes, carrots, onions, and everything else you can fit in the vegetable garden and greenhouse.

With a new home and larger living space, there is both plenty of room for interior design and walls to decorate – an excellent opportunity for Victoria’s secret talent to take more space in her life.

– I am pretty good at painting with watercolors, and my big goal this year is to find more time to paint. There is nothing better than decorating your walls with your art!

 

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