Autumn of 2007. I was an undergraduate electrical engineering student in Veszprém, and frankly, I had no idea what was waiting for me. Tucked away in my pocket was the memory of about 15 rejected resumes. Experience: zero. Self-confidence: just beginning to take shape. Then the phone rang: Balluff Elektronika Kft. (Hungary) was waiting for an interview.

The Decisive Interview

Arriving on time, ironed shirt – just as expected from a proper engineering candidate. In the meeting room, I was greeted by the watchful eyes of Hungarian and German managers. The stakes weren’t small: a real (!) software development task. But they had two important conditions:

1. I shouldn’t have a thesis topic yet (because this would be it).
2. I should be able to negotiate and work in English.

I was cheering inside. I always wanted to be a software developer, my topic was nowhere yet, and English went as smooth as clockwork. “We’ll notify you” – the classic phrase was uttered.

The Salary Negotiation That Made Me Feel Pretty Strange

A week or two later, while I was waiting in my mother’s car, my mobile rang again. The HR lady’s voice still rings in my ears today: – Congratulations, we’ve hired you. And the salary, instead of the requested net 90,000 HUF… would be 100,000 HUF. Would this be acceptable to you?

I looked around; I even turned back. Is this some kind of hidden camera? A prank? Are they really giving more than what I asked for? “Of course, I accept!” – I replied, and on September 12th, I dove headfirst into adult life.

Veszprém vs. BME: The Case of the “Black Sheep”

Starting was equivalent to a culture shock. I saw workstations, arsenals of instruments and parts that we only dreamed of at university. Everything was in neat, military order, labeled in its designated place. But there was something that put a lump in my throat: I was the first official software development engineer at the Hungarian headquarters. WTF?!

Everyone around me was a hardcore hardware development engineer (by position), moreover, they came from the “prestigious” BME. And there I stood with my diploma from Veszprém (well, still on the way to it), asking myself: Will I be enough for this place?

When Even Google Doesn’t Help

The task I received from the Germans proved to be a much tougher nut to crack than I thought. Back then, there wasn’t a Stack Overflow for every answer. I had to work with Microsoft technology for which knowledge couldn’t just be “grabbed” from the internet. Expensive textbooks, external consultants, and research stretching into the night were needed.

Although the software ended up being more of a “scrawny” prototype than a finished product, the Germans were satisfied. They were pleased with my research results, asked for a summary documentation, and that was it. That’s when I learned: the work invested and the methodical research are sometimes worth more than the perfect solution. This also leads somewhere; in fact, it’s the first important step: whether to go further or rather leave it.

The 12 years of competitive sports taught me perseverance, and I needed it here. Because what came after was the real deep end…