Hamza Yazaw
Life @ Aspire Series
We have an incredible team of talented professionals that we are extremely proud of. Get to know our Aspirers in our brand new ‘Life at Aspire’ blog series.
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He used to be a Circassian dancer (if you don’t know what this is, it’s worth Googling it), you can find him in all tech competitions in Jordan, he is an avid public speaker and is never afraid to ask the tough question – ‘but why?’. It’s time to meet our first Aspirer in this monthly blog series, our software engineer, Hamza Ziad Yazaw.
Why did you choose IT?
I studied Computer Science because when I was a kid I spent most of my time on computers. I love how technology can change peoples lives in the real world. My cousin also works in IT and he spoke to me about it when I was in highschool and I became really interested. I know that technology will highly impact the future and I love to read about upcoming trends in general. I want to impact Jordan’s future with technology.
What are you particularly passionate about within your industry?
How everything connects and comes together is mindblowing. Putting all the pieces together is what I am passionate about. For example, now with AI and Machine Learning, you just need to give one step and it will keep on going. It’s scary and exciting at the same time. We live in a real-life ‘Black Mirror’ episode, where everything that we imagine, ends up happening a few months later.
Why Aspire?
I had a friend that was a trainee here at Aspire. Last year he told me about the 2018 Smart Hackathon and invited me to be in his team since he knows that I love competing in Hackathons. The hackathon was a great opportunity to find out what happens in the real world outside of university (I was in my last semester) along with what technologies are out there that we didn’t know about yet. During the competition, we saw how passionate all the teams were about what they were doing and building. I really loved the team spirit, because even though everyone was competing they wanted to work for a greater cause (which was to solve a pain or create a new product). I bonded with a lot of people from Aspire and I had a taste that I could learn a lot from these inspiring people (and potentially beat them at the next hackathon, we won 2nd place). After the hackathon, I applied to the Aspire graduate program and became a trainee a while later. I am now a Software Engineer and I continue to learn from my colleagues on a daily basis.
Team Adiga at the 2018 Aspire Smart Hackathon
What does your typical day look like?
I wake up in the morning, water the plants, make breakfast, get dressed and off to work. While I am on my way to work I like to listen to motivational podcasts and I find that it’s a good way to start the morning. I always try to have fun while doing my job because working with data can sometimes be repetitive. I like to brainstorm with my colleagues and find ways to improve processes. In the afternoon I usually have meetings with our customers in the US. When I have free time at work, I tend to do courses offered by Aspire. After work, I mostly hang out with my friends and family. We discuss entrepreneurship ideas and try to find out about other regional IT competitions that we can participate in.
What do you value the most about the company?
Since we work with worldwide companies we get access to the latest technologies from the get-go and we can apply these best practices to the local market. Aspire also really focuses on our training and development. Learning about new trends and technologies in the industry is great for my professional and personal progression.
What is your favorite movie?
That’s a hard one! I can’t choose between ‘The Hobbit’ or ‘Pirates of the Carribbean’. They both are extremely well made and amazing movies because the way the story is told and the acting is extraordinary. People also often confuse Bard from The Hobbit with Will Turner from Pirates of the Carribbean.
The Hobbit vs Pirates of the Carribbean meme
What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to keep busy. A lot of times I like to read about the latest technologies, play video-games, hanging out with my friends and family and breaking the routine. I am always up for trying new things, at the moment I am planning on doing a backpacking and camping trip in Europe (I am a history and documentary fanatic).
If you had to choose one programming language to use for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
That’s an easy one! Python, hands down. Have you ever heard at love at first sight? Well it exists with technologies too and that was it for me. You can do so much with Python and it’s just an amazing world in programming.
Python vs Java meme
Any tips for new graduates?
When there is an opportunity to learn something new, just go for it! You might be surprised by the amount of information that you can gain from that seminar or workshop you didn’t want to attend because you wanted to sleep an extra couple of hours. That is what helped me to learn how to pitch, how to feel comfortable with public speaking, how to network with people and helped me get to where I am today.
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We are hiring!
We are hiring! If you want to work with amazing people like Hamza and become an Aspirer yourself, have a look at our careers page.
