From Babylon to Europe

Moving to a neighboring country and meeting a new company is a “reset” of consciousness? Adventure? Or both? System engineer Artem Bychkov managed to find out the answer to this question, to gain freedom on the project and make sure that it is good to know two languages, and three are better.

Let's remember about your work before moving to Minsk.

Before EPAM, I worked on a project for Deutsche Bank. It was called Financial Data Warehousing, that is, a repository of financial data. We have introduced a new version of this system. We had a very cool team: guys from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, three DevOps engineers, including me, from Moscow. Customer representatives were in Frankfurt.

And how did you start moving towards Belarus?

After the end of the project, I decided to try relocation, first within the framework of my company. As a result, he received two options: moving to the Polish city of Lodz, or to the capital of Romania. After carefully considering everything, I refused in favor of the “external” alternative - EPAM Minsk. And now I am sure that I did the right thing.

I have been to Belarus before, and not only in the capital, but also in Vitebsk, Brest, Brest region. Belarus is closer both geographically and culturally, the inhabitants speak Russian, the border is not so strict that not least it became an argument “for”.

Did EPAM manage to surprise you with something new and unfamiliar upon arrival?

In terms of the organization of the processes there were no surprises. Unless they were pleasantly surprised by the internal systems: as a reference web design, and for its excellent functionality.

When working on a project, there is quite a lot of freedom, space for development, proposals, ideas, initiatives. The client does not mind if I want to learn something new, then to apply to our system, improve internal processes. It's great!

And who provides such opportunities?

One of EPAM's largest customers is Thomson Reuters, in particular, a division of TR Legal, UK and Ireland. They have the website practicallaw.com - a database of ready-made solutions for lawyers around the world. The site is rather old and represents a curious tangle of diverse technologies, tools and services. I support this site with colleagues from London, and developers and testers are located in Minsk and Poland (Krakow).

I have already managed to visit England and get acquainted with the team, they are all very pleasant and cheerful people, and their level of professionalism and technical competence is exceptional.

So, in addition to freedom and a wide range of technologies, here I like the opportunity to communicate directly with representatives of the customer. Working with the English is a wonderful experience both culturally and linguistically.

Working days EPAM Minsk

And what pleasant surprises did Minsk offer?

Firstly, the lack of transport problems, and therefore, significant time savings. You can spend more time with your family, additional activities both at work and at home, hiking or traveling, and the cultural life of the city. Over the weekend, and all you can do a lot of things!

Secondly, the city is adapted for pedestrians and cyclists much better than Moscow. The capital of Russia is the level of London. The huge metropolis, the real Babylon. And Minsk is a large city, but without problems with traffic and the number of people. I like it comfort and environmental friendliness. You go out in the evening to the street - and you smell the honey, linden, freshness (even in the center!). Here, clean air, trees in bloom, despite the developed industry of the city.

I try to gradually master the Belarusian language I love, because to know Belarusian, Russian and English is much better and more interesting than just English and Russian.

And in general, according to my feelings, Minsk is in many ways a more European city than, say, Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Arbor for work in the fresh air, mitapov and barbecue in the Minsk office of EPAM

What, in your opinion, manifests this “Europeanness”?

First of all, in the rhythm of life. Indeed, in Europe, especially Northern and Western, people value their time. On weekends, shops are open for up to three hours, and then everyone goes home and spends their evenings with the family. The city in terms of the service sector is not buzzing 24 hours a day, here you can not go to the hairdresser at 2 at night or to fitness at 3 in the morning. So I finally returned to normal balance of sleep and wakefulness. True, Minsk should definitely borrow late film shows from megacities.

The geographical proximity to Europe is also felt: it is worth coming to Grodno, and there the center of the city looks more like Lithuania, while in Brest Poland is strongly influenced. Minsk itself, of course, is not like any other city in Belarus! The architecture here is majestic, monumental, far from being only Soviet. Modern Minsk is a bio-tech and deconstructivism of buildings of an intricate form of glass and metal, which quietly coexists with the Stalinist Empire and the lovely “gingerbread houses” of the Trinity Suburb and the Upper Town.

There are also incredibly many parks, water, and in a remote area from the center you can find a street-art tall in a high-rise building!

This is what I understood and saw in three months. Of course, you need to live here for at least a year, and preferably two, to feel the city, get to know it better and fully integrate into the new rhythm of life.

And what was three months earlier? How did relocation go?

I didn’t have any fundamental training, except that I was guided by the prices required by the formalities and the exact distance from Moscow to Minsk. Yes, and EPAM has provided significant support!
Many thanks to Alexandra Zamkova, who led the entire relocation process before and after the move. I also want to thank my managers Dmitry Ivashkevich, Dmitry Chopko and team leader Vladimir Portugalov for organizing the work process.

The most difficult thing when moving is to make a decision. Collecting things and getting off the road is already easier. Relocation, change of company, place of residence, country - this is an interesting adventure.

Why was it difficult for you to decide?

I mean the standard unwillingness of a person to change his usual circle of things, leave the house, a “warm” place in Moscow and get used to a new country. But this way out of the comfort zone allows you to better understand yourself, give yourself a shake, "filter out" priorities and move on. A kind of 'reset' for consciousness and even alignment.

I had no such experience, and I do not regret my choice. I did not expect that Belarus would be so cool, a sort of hidden gem between Russia and Europe.

And what prospects does EPAM open up for you?

I plan to develop extensively, that is, to master more technologies and working tools (there are opportunities for this on the project). In terms of intensification, or a qualitative transition to another level, the debugged system of personal development is very valuable for me - the Grow portal, where you can set professional goals and track their achievement.

Further, besides technical knowledge and a set of competencies, I would like to shift to managerial and organizational tasks. Among the additional features of the company - the presence of language courses and Language Level Assessment. So I will strive to grow professionally and improve language skills.

It's great that EPAM provides the ability to relocate to offices around the world. Not the fact that I will ever use it, but I like the potential chance. After all, this means that the company, for example, in the event of the completion of a project, takes care of its employees and seeks options for them.

And my wife is now preparing for courses testers in EPAM, and I hope that soon we will work in the same company!