Hey Florent, thank you for accepting this interview! Can we start by asking when did you start your job and at which position?

Hey! Sure, I joined Fleetback in July 2019 as Front-End Programmer. I could talk to you about what Front-End is, but I think that by now, you know what it’s about!

I joined Fleetback in the middle of its migration from the V1 to the V2 of the app, so it was a hot start! During that time I mostly worked on the Front Office of the web application, and now I work on both Front Office and Back Office.

Oooh, these are new words! Can you explain to us the difference between Front Office and Back Office?

Of course! In our application, the Back Office is the environment dedicated to the dealerships’ managers and employees, who use the app for their work, and the Front Office is the one dedicated to the dealerships’ customers. So, I’m a Front-End Developer working on the Back Office and the Front Office!

Thank you for this explanation!  What did you study to become a Front-End Programmer?

I actually didn’t start with IT right away. I started to study Electrical Engineering, which I enjoyed! But when I started working in industrial computing to code on machines, I knew that that was my thing! So, I started two years of studies in Computer Science, and I had the opportunity to study for a semester in Ireland, and, to finish, I was hired for an internship in the UK.

After that, I followed a professional Bachelor in Web and e-commerce in which I learned how to use more recent technologies and how to work on concrete technical cases for companies.

And why did you choose Front-End instead of Back-End?

I love Front-End because I get to create something that people will use directly. It’s all about creating an interaction with the users!

What kind of tools helps you in the creation process?

Like every programmer, I need an IDE. Here at Fleetback most of us use VS Code. It’s a software that combines most of the tools we need for programming. Besides that, I like to keep notes of what I’m working on during the day so I can explain it to others during our daily Scrum meeting, I do that on Google Keep. I also need a password manager to test the application, since I have a lot of accounts.

I never thought of that!

Yeah, since we all have several Fleetback accounts to replicate all the different automotive jobs which Fleetback users actually have in real life, the number of passwords we would have to remember would be crazy!

And lastly, I use Spotify to concentrate and to isolate myself when I’m working on complex tasks.

Would you have any tips for anyone wanting to get into your position?

I wish that Computer Science would be taught earlier in school programs! Unfortunately it’s not, which means that if you’re interested in this field, you have to discover it by yourself. So I guess my tip would be to trust your hobbies, and to not close doors on yourself!

Also, you can get a Computer Science degree even if you hate math, I’m living proof for that fact! And lastly, don’t be afraid of mistakes, it’s absolutely normal in programming. In my opinion, mistakes are one of the best ways to learn.

What do you think of the general atmosphere here at Fleetback?

We’ve had fewer afterworks since the beginning of the pandemic, but we’re slowly getting back to it and I really like it. I’m planning to go to a concert with some colleagues here in Belval very soon. So I guess you could say the atmosphere is good enough that we want to spend time together even outside of work!

That’s a good sign! Ok, last question: what did you cook recently?

Yesterday I made a ramen soup from scratch. The key is the homemade broth, it really is incomparable!

Thanks for your time! And we’ll need your recipe 😋