Internship in Norway: Opera Software
Opera Software holds summer internships every year. Last year, Kirill Ignatiev Kiri11squid from Yaroslavl got an internship at our office and we asked him to tell his story.
Oslo Opera House. But not Opera Software, but where they sing
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People often ask me: “Why Opera?”. Difficult question, but I will try to answer. In fact, I have long liked Opera: both as a browser and as a company. Once I just went to the Opera site and looked for internships there. I chose the most interesting for myself (Python, Desktop) and decided to submit an application. To do this, I had to update my resume and rewrite the marks from the record book into a file (this is called Transcript). This was in April 2014.
Oslo Central Station
In early May, I received a test task. It consisted of several simple tasks (write functions in a couple of lines), one more complicated (one screen program) and an open question on architecture (how would you design ...) I liked the problems, they were interesting, but not olympiad. Easier than they give in Yandex. They imitated the problems that arose during real work: processing strings, arrays, choosing the right container and algorithm. I tried to stick to the Pythonic way (PEP8, explicit is better than implicit, readability matters, etc.) and used the standard library to the maximum. Apparently, that's why I got one-line functions, because, in theory, the same thing could have been written much more verbose.
They were given assignments for a week, but, as always, it was this week that there was a blockade both at work and at school, plus there was a trip to Moscow. I had to answer the question about architecture briefly and with honest admission that I don’t really imagine how it would be better, because experience is not enough (do not do it!).
After some time, an invitation came to an interview via Skype. It was scheduled for May 27th. I was interviewed by three people: two from a potential team and one from HR. The interview lasted about an hour, with HR asking the most questions, so it was not very technical.
A day later I received a job offer. It included wages and working conditions. It should be borne in mind that the salary is indicated in Norwegian kroner and before taxes. The crown rate fluctuates, now about one crown costs 7.5 rubles. You can usually expect to pay 25-35% of taxes. But even if you deduct 35%, the intern at Opera Software’s salary is 3 times higher than the average developer’s salary in Yaroslavl (about 100 thousand rubles instead of 30 thousand). Of course, for the residents of Moscow such amounts will not seem surprising, and the Norwegian prices for many things are 2-3 times higher than the Russian ones, so not everything is so rosy. Nevertheless, I agreed without hesitation.
Red "O" in human growth before entering the office
The beginning of the internship was scheduled for June, and then I quietly began to take exams, which, of course, was my mistake. Because when the time came to apply to UDI, it turned out that not all documents are ready ( list of documents ). The most difficult was to get paper from the university, which they do not mind. Our first semester of the fifth year is just put into practice, but my idea to work in another country was met with bewilderment. Still, "times are hectic" and "as if something did not work out." I had to negotiate with the dean's office, ask for help from the international department (thank them very much!) And write an application addressed to the rector. All this took about a week and finally the application was filed (the employer filed for me). After that came the wait, which lasted for a month and a half. And finally, in August, when all the deadlines had already been broken, I received a letter that I received a residence permit! Next was a trip to Moscow for a visa "D" - it gives the right only to enter Norway. Within 7 days after entry you must contact the Service Center for Foreign Workers to receive an oppholdstillatelse card. So it is better to make an appointment to this center in advance. Although if one fails to sign up within the first 7 days, no one will be fooled by this. The card is sent by mail, so that already in the first month it is desirable to have a permanent address.
Accommodation in Oslo is not difficult to find, but expensive. Usually all ads are placed on finn.no (even have a map ). For 4-5 thousand crowns it is really possible to find a room, for 10 thousand already one-room apartment. Personally, I was lucky, and there was a free room in one of the apartments owned by the company, for just 4,300 kroons (32 thousand rubles). It is also a big plus that this money is deducted from the salary, that is, you do not have to pay in advance. At the same time, for Norway, usually when renting an apartment, they still ask for a deposit - an amount of 2-3 monthly plans, which is returned after the tenant’s departure. Therefore, for the first time, you may need a significant amount of money. Salary in Opera Sofware is paid every 20th day, and usually only from the second month. Fortunately, you can ask the accounting department to issue a certain amount in cash in advance. What I did in the second week. Prior to that, he used Russian bank cards. Accepted everywhere, the bank automatically converted the purchase amount into rubles.
The company also provides meals for a nominal fee and a corporate SIM card. So even the intern will not have financial problems.
For salary will need a Norwegian bank account. I recommend Nordea Bank. Although they refused to give me access to the online bank due to the presence of only a temporary D-nummer (this number is issued to those who are in Norway for less than 6 months), but they have a Check-In program with a free card for people under 28 years old. , and ATMs are often found in Oslo.
Oslo is a very calm city. The most popular transport is buses and bicycles. There are not so many traffic jams as in big cities. The city has only 600 thousand inhabitants, even though it is the capital. But for Norway this is normal, in the country as a whole there are 5 million inhabitants, although the territory is quite large. The main area is occupied by natural spaces. The country is very beautiful, you can walk out of the city on foot and immediately get into the beautiful forest. I'm not talking about the opportunity to go to the fjords!
Student status offers several advantages, such as a discount on a travel card and a train from the Flytoget airport. You can also borrow an electric bike from the Opera garage. The office of the Opera is located on a hill, so the help of an electric motor does not hurt at all!
After a while I was even able to take possession of my own bike for free. On the same site finn.no there is a section Gis bort , that is, for nothing. I was surprised how many useful things give in good hands!
Also, for the first time, I appreciated the convenience of living in a city with an international airport: it’s not a problem to fly to other European countries for a weekend. Ticket prices start at five euros.
Norway ranks first in the world in terms of HDI - an integral indicator of the standard of living. In short: everything is rich here. According to my impressions, any person in Norway - even a cleaner, even a salesman in McDonalds - everyone gets a decent salary. Therefore, the average level is very high. On the other hand, there are a few billionaires here. The more a person earns, the more taxes are collected from him.
I don't know Norwegian, at all. But that never stopped me. The locals speak English quite well, and in the company all business communication is conducted exclusively in English. You can go to Norwegian courses, but, I confess, I went only once. After some time, the basic words and phrases stick themselves.
In general, Opera Software welcomes internationalism. I met employees from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, as well as Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Peru ... And this is only from those whom I personally know.
In general, the Norwegians calmly treat immigrants and foreigners. I personally have never felt a hint of negative. However, a certain degree of discrimination is observed towards the Poles. For example, they can say “after all, it’s better to tie a bicycle, otherwise all Poles walk along the streets ...” It is unclear how they deserved such an attitude. I know many Poles, great people. One of them said: “We met the girls in the club, word for word, all things ... How does the conversation start:“ Where are you from? ”“ From Poland ”. After that, all the girls, without exception, reported after a minute, “Oh, I must urgently leave here ... So come on, good luck!”. Probably the Norwegians are simply not used to immigrants, and the Poles are the largest and most notable group.
After 4 months, my Norwegian contract ended, and I returned to the university to finish my studies.
It seems to me that for any student an internship experience in a foreign company will be extremely useful.
This is the practice of English, the opportunity to live in another country and learn a foreign culture.
And Opera turned out to be a very good place for this!
Internship vacancies for 2015 are already open.
Oslo Opera House. But not Opera Software, but where they sing
')
People often ask me: “Why Opera?”. Difficult question, but I will try to answer. In fact, I have long liked Opera: both as a browser and as a company. Once I just went to the Opera site and looked for internships there. I chose the most interesting for myself (Python, Desktop) and decided to submit an application. To do this, I had to update my resume and rewrite the marks from the record book into a file (this is called Transcript). This was in April 2014.
Interview
Oslo Central Station
In early May, I received a test task. It consisted of several simple tasks (write functions in a couple of lines), one more complicated (one screen program) and an open question on architecture (how would you design ...) I liked the problems, they were interesting, but not olympiad. Easier than they give in Yandex. They imitated the problems that arose during real work: processing strings, arrays, choosing the right container and algorithm. I tried to stick to the Pythonic way (PEP8, explicit is better than implicit, readability matters, etc.) and used the standard library to the maximum. Apparently, that's why I got one-line functions, because, in theory, the same thing could have been written much more verbose.
They were given assignments for a week, but, as always, it was this week that there was a blockade both at work and at school, plus there was a trip to Moscow. I had to answer the question about architecture briefly and with honest admission that I don’t really imagine how it would be better, because experience is not enough (do not do it!).
After some time, an invitation came to an interview via Skype. It was scheduled for May 27th. I was interviewed by three people: two from a potential team and one from HR. The interview lasted about an hour, with HR asking the most questions, so it was not very technical.
A day later I received a job offer. It included wages and working conditions. It should be borne in mind that the salary is indicated in Norwegian kroner and before taxes. The crown rate fluctuates, now about one crown costs 7.5 rubles. You can usually expect to pay 25-35% of taxes. But even if you deduct 35%, the intern at Opera Software’s salary is 3 times higher than the average developer’s salary in Yaroslavl (about 100 thousand rubles instead of 30 thousand). Of course, for the residents of Moscow such amounts will not seem surprising, and the Norwegian prices for many things are 2-3 times higher than the Russian ones, so not everything is so rosy. Nevertheless, I agreed without hesitation.
Getting a visa and work permit
Red "O" in human growth before entering the office
The beginning of the internship was scheduled for June, and then I quietly began to take exams, which, of course, was my mistake. Because when the time came to apply to UDI, it turned out that not all documents are ready ( list of documents ). The most difficult was to get paper from the university, which they do not mind. Our first semester of the fifth year is just put into practice, but my idea to work in another country was met with bewilderment. Still, "times are hectic" and "as if something did not work out." I had to negotiate with the dean's office, ask for help from the international department (thank them very much!) And write an application addressed to the rector. All this took about a week and finally the application was filed (the employer filed for me). After that came the wait, which lasted for a month and a half. And finally, in August, when all the deadlines had already been broken, I received a letter that I received a residence permit! Next was a trip to Moscow for a visa "D" - it gives the right only to enter Norway. Within 7 days after entry you must contact the Service Center for Foreign Workers to receive an oppholdstillatelse card. So it is better to make an appointment to this center in advance. Although if one fails to sign up within the first 7 days, no one will be fooled by this. The card is sent by mail, so that already in the first month it is desirable to have a permanent address.
Housing, salary
Accommodation in Oslo is not difficult to find, but expensive. Usually all ads are placed on finn.no (even have a map ). For 4-5 thousand crowns it is really possible to find a room, for 10 thousand already one-room apartment. Personally, I was lucky, and there was a free room in one of the apartments owned by the company, for just 4,300 kroons (32 thousand rubles). It is also a big plus that this money is deducted from the salary, that is, you do not have to pay in advance. At the same time, for Norway, usually when renting an apartment, they still ask for a deposit - an amount of 2-3 monthly plans, which is returned after the tenant’s departure. Therefore, for the first time, you may need a significant amount of money. Salary in Opera Sofware is paid every 20th day, and usually only from the second month. Fortunately, you can ask the accounting department to issue a certain amount in cash in advance. What I did in the second week. Prior to that, he used Russian bank cards. Accepted everywhere, the bank automatically converted the purchase amount into rubles.
The company also provides meals for a nominal fee and a corporate SIM card. So even the intern will not have financial problems.
Bank account
For salary will need a Norwegian bank account. I recommend Nordea Bank. Although they refused to give me access to the online bank due to the presence of only a temporary D-nummer (this number is issued to those who are in Norway for less than 6 months), but they have a Check-In program with a free card for people under 28 years old. , and ATMs are often found in Oslo.
Transport
Oslo is a very calm city. The most popular transport is buses and bicycles. There are not so many traffic jams as in big cities. The city has only 600 thousand inhabitants, even though it is the capital. But for Norway this is normal, in the country as a whole there are 5 million inhabitants, although the territory is quite large. The main area is occupied by natural spaces. The country is very beautiful, you can walk out of the city on foot and immediately get into the beautiful forest. I'm not talking about the opportunity to go to the fjords!
Student status offers several advantages, such as a discount on a travel card and a train from the Flytoget airport. You can also borrow an electric bike from the Opera garage. The office of the Opera is located on a hill, so the help of an electric motor does not hurt at all!
After a while I was even able to take possession of my own bike for free. On the same site finn.no there is a section Gis bort , that is, for nothing. I was surprised how many useful things give in good hands!
Also, for the first time, I appreciated the convenience of living in a city with an international airport: it’s not a problem to fly to other European countries for a weekend. Ticket prices start at five euros.
Standard of living
Norway ranks first in the world in terms of HDI - an integral indicator of the standard of living. In short: everything is rich here. According to my impressions, any person in Norway - even a cleaner, even a salesman in McDonalds - everyone gets a decent salary. Therefore, the average level is very high. On the other hand, there are a few billionaires here. The more a person earns, the more taxes are collected from him.
Language and immigrants
I don't know Norwegian, at all. But that never stopped me. The locals speak English quite well, and in the company all business communication is conducted exclusively in English. You can go to Norwegian courses, but, I confess, I went only once. After some time, the basic words and phrases stick themselves.
In general, Opera Software welcomes internationalism. I met employees from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, as well as Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Peru ... And this is only from those whom I personally know.
In general, the Norwegians calmly treat immigrants and foreigners. I personally have never felt a hint of negative. However, a certain degree of discrimination is observed towards the Poles. For example, they can say “after all, it’s better to tie a bicycle, otherwise all Poles walk along the streets ...” It is unclear how they deserved such an attitude. I know many Poles, great people. One of them said: “We met the girls in the club, word for word, all things ... How does the conversation start:“ Where are you from? ”“ From Poland ”. After that, all the girls, without exception, reported after a minute, “Oh, I must urgently leave here ... So come on, good luck!”. Probably the Norwegians are simply not used to immigrants, and the Poles are the largest and most notable group.
Results
After 4 months, my Norwegian contract ended, and I returned to the university to finish my studies.
It seems to me that for any student an internship experience in a foreign company will be extremely useful.
This is the practice of English, the opportunity to live in another country and learn a foreign culture.
And Opera turned out to be a very good place for this!
Internship vacancies for 2015 are already open.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/244781/
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