During a recent job interview, I was asked to share a brief account of how I fell in love with coding. The question made me reflect on my journey, and while it may be a familiar story, I believe it's worth documenting.
A Glimpse into My Early Years: My interest in the IT industry began at a young age. From the age of seven, I was surrounded by technology and became curious about how different devices worked – especially the components like CPUs and GPUs. I started tinkering with hardware early on, from the ZX Spectrum to more modern systems. By the time I was fourteen, I was already assembling my own PCs.
My father was a big inspiration. As a seasoned assembler programmer, his work sparked my fascination with computers and how programs could be written to perform specific tasks.
As I moved through school, I began experimenting with programming languages. I tried out Turbo Pascal, Delphi, HTML, and CSS. By the time I was seventeen, I started working on both front-end and back-end development, focusing on HTML, CSS, and PHP.
Instead of going straight to university after high school, I took a gap year to better understand what direction I wanted to take. During that time, I helped some daycare centers build websites and began learning Perl, including how to read and modify scripts. That year confirmed for me that software development was my true calling – I enjoyed solving problems and creating things through code.
Expanding My Professional Horizon: When I started university, I chose to study Computer Science. In my sophomore year, I worked as a Technical Specialist, handling system administration and access control systems.
Later, I joined Angstrem-Telecom, where I tested network equipment like SoC RTL89xxC based on OpenWrt and Octopus. After earning my master’s degree from the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology (MIET), I focused on automating the physical design of integrated circuits.
Throughout my studies, I worked extensively with programming languages like C, C++, and Python. I also implemented algorithms for tasks such as standard cell placement and routing in chip design. My Master's thesis focused on developing a global placement tool using a modified simulated annealing algorithm for topological design.
Before moving to the United States, my life and work were deeply connected with the IT industry. This journey has shaped who I am today – a passionate software engineer driven by curiosity, creativity, and a desire to build things that matter.