We are happy to share the story of Ernest, as one of our employees who climbed the ladder of career success together with Axapta Masters. He has been with us since our company had less than 50 employees, and as a loyal hard-working employee contributed to the growth in every way. He is working remotely from Malta, and one of the things that helped him stay organized and motivated while working remotely is organizing his day and tasks in a particular way. Find out more about Ernest’s story and his tips for newbies and experienced people who are interested to join Axapta Masters team.
You are a few years with us, what do you like the most about working at Axapta Masters?
Yes, I am 3 years as a full-time Technical Architect and previously another year as a part-time technical consultant, time flies when you are busy. When I joined Axapta Masters it was still a small company specialized in Microsoft Dynamics products, with less than 50 people, developers, and functional consultants, now 3 years later the company grew to a serious Microsoft gold partner and doubled the employees, very soon reaching to 100. With the growth of the company, I have witnessed as well as actively participated in the company transformation to become what is now, one of the largest Microsoft partners in Eastern Europe, specialized in Microsoft Dynamics technology with a rich business portfolio of clients and many international projects completed. Working for Axapta Masters is a challenge for beginners as well as for experienced professionals, having the chance to participate in international projects and gaining a valuable experience which is added to the company as well as for your personal career goals.
Can you tell us more about your job as Dynamics AX Senior Technical Consultant/ Architect, and how your career has developed from the start until now?
My career developed gradually, climbing the career ladder step by step. First, as a graduated computer science student, I have joined an internship immediately after graduation for 6 months to gain real live project experience. As soon I passed the internship, I landed my first job as a software developer in Microsoft technologies. I must say, it was one of the most important as it gave me confidence and I faced the reality that in this industry there are no shortcuts but a lifetime learning process. After gaining some experience I end up on a cross path, it was up to me to decide in which technology I am going to drive my career, on which technology to specialize and how I see myself in the future. Finding the right career path for me helped me to gain focus and the rest is in my CV. 10+ years working for various Microsoft Dynamics partners, as senior software developer graduated to technical consultant and technical architect, specialized in Microsoft Dynamics AX/365 product. Now I am working as a senior technical architect at Axapta Masters, which involved many responsibilities as technical design, development, team lead for multiple projects, direct client support, etc. Other than that, I actively participate in knowledge sharing and improving general standards at the company level.
Axapta Masters has a portfolio of working with big companies through different industries. How is your experience working with clients from all over the world?
Axapta Masters initially started with international companies successfully completing large international projects over time, on which I was involved partially or full time. My experience varies from satisfying up to excellent, but never bad. Having the challenge to work with large multinational companies gives you the opportunity to adapt to enterprise-level working, which is quite different compared to working for small to medium clients and projects. This involves following strict standards, involves lots of communication and planning as part of the projects. Other than the challenge of having responsibility in very important projects, working with various people from around the world gives you the opportunity to meet different people, to learn from them and have fun when possible.
You live in Malta and work remotely for a while now. What is a typical working day like for you, and what are the pros and cons of the job that you do?
Yes, I am living and working in Malta and in the last 7 years working remotely most of the time. As the world became a global village that isn’t a problem for me. Malta and Macedonia are very well connected by flights, so I like the dynamic of being in between both places. When needed I am at Axapta Masters headquarter very easily.
About my typical workday, it varies depending on the period, how much I am involved in projects, how much I travel to clients, usually in northern Europe. I would say I have 2 periods, busy and very busy. If I don’t travel a lot, I prefer to work from the office, instead of working from home, which helps me a lot mentally and physically to cope with the daily tasks. I usually have several focus points during the day which I plan for certain activities. I have a period for coding, which is early in the morning till 10:00. Then I have a period for meetings and analysis. The afternoon is quieter from meetings, so I try to finish the work left from the morning. The evening should be reserved for taking rest, however, I have a strange focus period late in the evening when I am very effective to complete some unfinished work.
The cons of this profession is the fragile work-life balance, which is easily broken in favor of work. This works for some time however on the long run there is a huge risk of having serious health issues from prolonged sitting. I am working hard to make this balance more stable in near future.
In your own words, what would you say to a potential new colleague as a key argument to come and join Axapta Masters?
They are two types of potential colleagues to join at Axapta Masters, experienced and those who joined from university, the newbies.
For experienced people, it’s easy to have an argument to join Axapta Masters by just going through the company portfolio of successful international projects. The concern to new colleagues is the human factor, how they are treated by the management, and how their personal career plans are going to be achieved over time. Axapta Masters is the opposite of conservative management which is still present in many industries. This involves personal independence and flexibility to work if results are achieved. This is a modern IT company with experienced people who are quite friendly to work with and do not forget, having fun is part of the job.
For the newbies who are interested to join Axapta Masters, I would say the following – This is one of a kind opportunity to join a serious company as young as possible, to gain valuable international experience in the ERP industry. This gained value will be noticed and rewarded by the company, just work hard and be nice to people!
If you are interested to grow and climb the career ladder as part of our team, check out our careers page and the open vacancies. We are open to working with like-minded individuals, so don’t hesitate to send us your CV!
