A Look to IT Outsourcing from Different Angle. Interview with Lilia Vandermeijden

A lot of people look at IT Outsourcing industry straightforwardly – like on a business model or a way of interaction between companies, teams or individuals for a number of reasons.

We decided to ask an opinion about IT outsourcing of a developer, designer or a software engineer. As everything is understandable with executive managers – they need profits in the end. And what about people who actually make these profits? We also decided to complicate the task and ask an opinion of a professional, who works in the company that is not connected with IT outsourcing anyhow.

We were lucky to talk with Lilia Vandermeijden, a web developer at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Lilia turned to be our compatriot and it doubled the pleasure of talking with her. She kindly answered a few of our questions about her profession and the way of living. Lilia also shared a few tips about web development, mobile, resources of inspiration and attitude towards IT outsourcing.

So here is our small conversation:

1. How did you decide to become an Interactive Software Engineer? Did you always feel that this was your destination?

Software engineering is my second career. I used to be a nurse before moving to the US from Ukraine. Even though I've always been fond of math and I've never dreamed of becoming an engineer, my interest in the Internet, creating personal websites and living in the Silicon Valley stirred me into choosing a new path in my professional life.

2. There are a lot of talks about mobile as the future of web technologies. Is this statement a truthful forecast in your opinion?

I believe that this statement is true since many people tend to be very busy these days and mobile technology helps people to stay on top of their daily tasks no matter where they are. Consumers enjoy a tremendous amount of convenience by using mobile technology which expends the World Wide Web and caters to people on the go. We already see big demand for single websites that support both desktop computers and mobile devices.

3. Let's imagine that Apple has opened an IT outsourcing department and you are a part of it. What in your opinion would be peculiarities and difficulties of work as a part of an IT outsourcing team?

1. Communication would be difficult due to the possible time-change.
2. Projects might take longer to complete if part of the team is in another part of the world and/or there are language barriers.

4. Could you name 3 most interesting things in the job of a Software Engineer that motivate and inspire you to be more and more effective each and every day? Are there any routine tasks that should be just done?

1. Challenge that forces a programmer to continue to learn - the technology doesn't stay the same and it keeps engineers on their toes. I have to constantly keep up with my education, learn new programming approaches and improve my skills.
2. Thinking ahead and ask the right questions - in a way a programmer has to be a mind-reader or a psychic who will see ahead what new features a customer would like to see in the product and how they will positively or negatively affect the application and act accordingly.
3. Working with great people - the environment is very important. It's great to get up in the morning and know that I will be working along-side with good, interesting, smart people that will challenge and support me at the same time.

5. Do you see any advantages of IT outsourcing? What types of companies can effectively outsource their IT-related tasks?

One of the advantages might be an efficient, less time-consuming turn-around of a software product if two teams work on it - one in the US and the other overseas since it gives an opportunity to work on a product almost 24 hours/day due to the time difference.

I'd like to thank Lilia one more time for her openness, honesty and the willingness to share her thoughts and ideas. It was a great pleasure to talk to her.