Meet George Kvirikashvili, a senior front-end developer working at our Tbilisi office. He joined the team five years ago as a computer science student. In this edition of Career Map, George tells us the beginning of his very own #SingularStory. He shares his progress from junior markup developer to a senior front-end developer.

Without further ado, we’re inviting you to read along and find out more yourself about George’s career journey, the tools he’s been using, as well as tips and tricks for aspiring developers. ⬇️

The start of my #SingularStory

Before I started working at Singular, I was a sophomore student at the International Black Sea University, specifically at the Faculty of Computer Technologies and Engineering. At the same time, I took a training course called “Front End Programming” provided by our local Tech park – GITA. It is where I first touched the programming world. The first “Hello World” was written there. 🙂

During this course, I met Giorgi Parunovi (now my friend and co-worker), who helped me get in touch with Singular. He suggested my candidacy to one of the co-founders, Akaki Meladze. After the interview, I became a part of the family named Singular.

To tell you the truth, it was my first interview ever, and Singular is the first and only company in which I have worked. I started working as a Junior Markup Developer on 13 July 2016. I was 19 years old, the youngest in the whole company. So, “child” was the most popular word about me :D.

Growing as a developer

The first job was challenging. I didn’t know anything about how to behave at work or to communicate with other colleagues. But, thanks to the friendly and cozy atmosphere, which is the main advantage of the Singular family, I became the person I am right now.

After almost five years of experience and developing hard skills and soft skills simultaneously, I become Senior Front End Developer and work for Operator Website and Operator Website CMS team.

To sum up, I’m really, really thankful to every member of Singular. Without them I couldn’t be the person I am at this moment. I realized how important it is for personal development to work on yourself every time, to set outstanding goals to achieve them and be the Singular person. 😀

Which technologies are you working with?

When I first started working as a developer, the first technologies that I used were HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Then, Ionic Framework and Angular.js appeared in my daily stuff. It was really interesting to build mobile applications with Ionic for both: IOS and Android systems.

After that, when I became an Intermediate Developer, Angular turned out to be the main technology, along with TypeScript. My first Angular-based projects were SAM, Game Directory UI, Operator Website, and Operator Website CMS. I have extensive experience with these projects and deepened my knowledge in frontend technologies, like Angular, Typescript, State management tools, Build tools, etc.

The latest technology which was amazing and innovative for me was Tailwind.css. It allows you to write CSS with utility classes and do not even need .css files. Anyway, long story short, their motto tells everything: “rapidly build modern websites, without ever leaving your HTML. (thanks, Zura Gabievi, for sharing this discovery 🙂 )

The most challenging part of your work?

I reckon that the most challenging part of my work is an attitude towards work. If you do not love your job and are not motivated enough, you will end up frustrated. You will start doing your job just to perform a certain duty.

The second important thing is to always be up to date about all technological events and updates. This industry is growing fast. You have to catch up and stay tuned to be informed and develop your skills with cutting-edge technology.

Last, but not least, is leaving your comfort zone. After some time as a developer, you realize that you are in a comfort zone. It affects your pace of development drastically. So, there comes a moment where you have to decide whether you want to keep up and take hard, but crucial steps for your future evolution or stay where you are and affect your career and company.

The most important skill a person should develop to be successful in this profession?

As I already mentioned, one of the most important skills a person should develop is to easily manage to leave their comfort zone and force themselves to always move forward. Also, interpersonal skills are so required to be successful in this profession. Toxic relationships between your colleagues and managers are the most hindering factors to be a successful professional.

In addition, a skill that plays a big role in your development is a high level of responsibility. You should have a strong desire to be responsible for every part of your work. Responsibility, result-orientation, and hard work are my ‘formula’ for success, not only in my profession.

Time flies so fast with outstanding teammates by your side! It’s been five years since George joined the team. We can say for sure that nothing makes us happier than working alongside people who are passionate about building the world’s greatest gaming software. George is just one of the many teammates who started their tech career at Singular and progressed to higher positions thanks to their hard work, dedication, and ambition.

Whether you are a fresh graduate on the search for their first job experience, or an experienced tech professional, we encourage you to take a look at our open vacancies. At Singular, we are always looking for individuals who are willing to grow and contribute to our products with innovative ideas, a challenging mindset, and eagerness to become outstanding in what they do. See George’s Career Map below and see how much you can grow as part of our team!