Do I have to?

My name is Hristo Hristov.

I am originally from Shumen, Bulgaria where I lived until I was 21. Whilst I was at university, I came to the UK to earn some money over the summer but I realized I can strive for bigger dreams and success here, so I decided to stay for longer. Firstly, I came to Wolverhampton, then, after a year, I moved down south to Bournemouth as I had relatives here. Up until this point, I was working various jobs and thinking about what I want my future to be. I had studied software development in school and university back in my country and had enjoyed it, so I decided that I wanted to be a software engineer. I started a “Software Engineering” degree at Bournemouth university and after three years of work and dedication, I graduated. And here I am now – living the dream and achieving the goals I’ve set!

I would describe myself as serious, calm, and focused. Of course, I do have fun from time to time. I am also conservative and old-fashioned – the good ol’ days. I don’t like small talk – let’s talk big! I’m also a practical person, which is one of the qualities that aids in my professional life. It may be said that I’m a perfectionist as well.

Hobbies and interests:

• Politics(this is the part which could trigger many people so I will close it here).
• Healthy lifestyle and sports – I am actually a certified personal trainer and before I went to BU, I thought I wanted to work in the fitness industry. Although, after I got more into it, I realised it would be extremely risky to pursue down that path and that it is in fact, an exhausted industry.
• Trading and economics – During Covid and the mental inflation of currencies around the western world, I got into trading. Frankly, I didn’t know much, and as every trader on Earth, I lost moderate amounts of money. Optimistically, I actually learned from my mistakes and familiarised myself with how the economy functions on many levels.
• Self improvement – What’s the point of living if one is not to improve themselves? We are created for it.
• Nature – I enjoy being surrounded by the wild. That is when people can be their true selves. As the saying goes “Become one with nature”. Furthermore, I love the sun. And why wouldn’t I?! Free vitamin D and dopamine!
• Software (obviously) – my dream. “If you enjoy what you are doing, you will never work a day!”

My role at bbd

When it comes to bbd, as a front-end developer, I enjoy the varying types of work. A large range of technologies are being utilized to tackle different use-cases which I personally enjoy as I am very ambitious to learn new concepts. I have learnt lots of new things, and building up my skills never stops – probably the best first job a software professional could get! From what I have seen, management seems to be open to new ideas and solutions and are not afraid to experiment in order to improve quality. When it comes to other professionals I work with, everyone has been very kind and helpful, it’s just the perfect environment. Furthermore, I appreciate all the events and free newbie lunches I got from the company. Seems I got lucky around the hiring season. Overall, for the past month and a half, my experience with the company has been great and doesn’t even feel like work. Who would’ve thought I could actually have so much fun doing my job?