In this Arc Developer interview, we chat with Tomas Radvansky about his unusual path to becoming a remote developer, why he left medicine, his personal work setup, and more.
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How Did You Start Your Career?
Which one? 😀
My first commercial coding job was during high school. I did a C# webform app for a local swimming pool manufacturer. I had some other attempts such as winning second place in a programming competition organized by a technical university in Kosice as a medical student.
After graduation, I moved with my fiance to the UK to become a doctor there, but we had to wait for GMC to approve our license (a lot of paperwork, money, and time). During this wait, I had to get some kind of job, so I found some small freelancing projects, and then I got a full-time job as an iOS developer in Manchester.
I worked there for a couple of months, and then once I got my medical license I started as a doctor in Gillingham, Kent, in the UK.
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Why Did You Choose To Make Such A Huge Transition To Become A Software Developer In Your Career?
Lack of time! I mean, doctors work all the time, even if it’s not required by law (which is much better in the UK than back home in Slovakia). And the more experienced you are, the more you work: there is more responsibility, more work to be done, and everyone just expects more from you.
I always wanted to have a family, kids and see the world. Be able to live and experience life.
Are There Any Similarities Between Being A Doctor And A Developer?
To me, it’s still science: there are rules, documentation, and hacks. You have always multiple ways to solve problems or bypass them. Another similarity is that if you are a doctor or developer, others think that you can solve or cure everything instantly and that you have knowledge of the whole human body (or know every single programming language or framework).
How Did You Convince The Company That You Would Take The Job Only If It’s A Remote Position?
I resigned from my previous position because they did not allow remote work/using a home office while my wife was pregnant (and then when my first daughter was born).
Which was pretty crazy, considering that we were foreigners coding from Malta for a French company with clients in the US — I didn’t even have a single person to speak to in the office about work! I was usually two weeks ahead with my tasks, so there was plenty of downtime.
Then like two days before our departure from Malta, I got a call from a software company based there which dealt with healthcare solutions. They invited me for an interview after they saw my LinkedIn profile. I told them directly: I am leaving in two days, and unless the position is fully remote, I am not interested. They accepted, and I worked for them for almost two years.
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What Is The Difference Between Working On-Site And Remotely?
Too many things, but I think the best thing is that you don’t have social pressure to pretend or make unnecessary chit-chat. And, obviously, being in charge of my own time management.
If You Were Making The Transition To Working Remotely Again, What Would You Do Differently?
I don’t think that there was anything I could do better in my position. Obviously, if I was not a doctor before, I would definitely work more on freelancing projects and build my portfolio to achieve this independence sooner, but it just wasn’t on my mind at the time.
What Do You Love Most About Working Remotely?
That my kids are next to me, that I can easily go to the bank/post office, that I can travel, and the ability to work offline sometimes.
What Is The Biggest Challenge You Face While Working Remotely?
I don’t like current visa politics. I mean to me it is ridiculous that you cannot just live in the country of your choice.
Imagine a simple situation: you have someone with an e-residency in Estonia, and they work for clients around the world. They want to settle in any country, let’s say Canada or Malaysia — anywhere! — and don’t want to work for a company there.
But they can’t, as there is no way to stay in most countries longer than 90 days. Not mentioning other troubles like paying higher rents, impossible to get a loan for anything, etc. People say that the world has become global, but it’s only an illusion.
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What Are Your Favorite Technologies Or Tools For Remote Work, And Why?
- SourceTree: git source control — I like GUI and it has a nice way of showing history
- Github: source control
- GSuite and Google drive: personal documents, photos, some mockups, project ideas etc.
- Mobirise: nice, simple HTML5 landing pages
- Skype: VoIP and virtual number (to me it’s always funny hearing people complain about Skype, but who are then willing to pay for a similar product like Zoom)
- Slack: team communication, sharing files, keeping the discussion in threads
- Trello: transparency with clients, showing progress, keeping the discussion in tasks
- Fastlane: CI/CD
- VMWare: sometimes I need to isolate my Mac Env completely for a client
- Spotify and Netflix
What Objects, Tools, and Peripherals Do You Love To Use While Working Remotely?
- MacBook Pro 16”: there is no other choice for a portable workstation
- Magic Mouse 2: I just cannot work without those surface gestures/panning
- Logitech Craft keyboard: I wanted a wireless keyboard, backlit, with BT support for multiple devices, and with a design comparable to Apple products
- Caldigit USB PRO: TB3 dock, and an amazing piece of hardware
The only thing missing is a decent monitor, but I will probably soon move from my house, so that will be a present for me after.
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What Is The First Thing You Ever Built?
That will probably be some Lego. But if you mean software: I started very early, as my father loved computers when no one even knew what they were for. At home, we had an old clone of a ZX Spectrum and he taught me the basics.
After that I started with Pascal -> Delphi -> C# -> Objective-C, Java, and so on.
What Are The Most Exciting Projects That You’ve Worked On?
I liked my work for the Maltese healthcare company I mentioned earlier, as I knew that that software has some real impact on human life. But still, even there, I felt like we should be doing more.
How Do You Stay Up-To-Date With Technologies And Best Practices?
By trying new things before they are famous 😉 I am not 100% sure that what I write is best practice, but after those years, I can now identify what code should be refactored. Or when I get someone else’s project, I can tell whether this is even worth refactoring 😉
Which Operating System And Browser Do You Use? Why?
Mac OSX Catalina: I have to use the latest if I want the latest iOS and all its features. But I am happy with it.
I also use Chrome, I have Google services, and I am happy with some plugins I am using and syncing across devices. Plus, obviously, Chrome debugger for cross-platform apps like IONIC4.
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What Is The Best Advice You’ve Ever Received?
You can’t do it. It’s too difficult. Find an easy job 9-5, take on a 40-year mortgage and live your life.
Those are nice motivational speeches to do the exact opposite!
What Advice Would You Give To A Developer Wanting To Make The Leap To Remote?
It might be already too late if they are still waiting for advice to do the leap! But it’s definitely easier if you are alone (no partner, kids, etc.). So if something goes wrong, your whole family is not dependent on you.
If You Didn’t Have To Work For Money, What Would You Do?
That’s a difficult question as you did not specify if I have money to do things. As that’s the problem with money and life.
People are trying to earn money to be able to live, because they feel like they are wasting years of their life at work. My dream is to have enough passive income so that I can do my own projects and my own inventions, and I don’t have to spend days coding apps for someone else. I love to learn new things, and I am fascinated by quantum mechanics. Yeah, plenty of things to explore!
Thanks for chatting with us, Tomas!
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