Maverick Alumni Series Featuring Arbindra Bajracharya, Software Engineer with Symantec

What companies have you worked for and what types of projects and technologies have you worked on since graduation?

Right after my graduation, I was offered a full-time position by Symantec which is also the company which I worked for while I was at Maverick. The first team I was on was the NetBackup Meta data management team (NetBackup Catalog) which was the core team for NetBackup. While on this team, I fixed several high-risk defects in the Catalog area (NetBackup code base is in C, C++), wrote several functional automated tests using Perl scripted language and documented several of the NetBackup components. Some of the technologies that I used while on this team was Corba, Boost and ACE libraries.

Once the company switched to an Agile development framework, I have worked on several scrum teams where I wrote more automated test scripts, worked on the feature to support NDMP backups to NetApp filer using the Accelerator technology. Currently, I am working as a scrum master for one of the scrum teams that is working on the feature to perform NDMP Accelerator backups to Isilon filers. On this team, I am learning the Accelerator feature which makes our product perform backups at high speeds and sets us apart in the market.

How does the type of work you are doing now compare to the work you did at Maverick Software Consulting?

What’s similar?

I am working on exactly the same product (NetBackup) right now as I was working when I was at Maverick. Also, I am writing the automated test scripts using the same technology/framework as I learned while I was in Maverick. The familiarity with the product has helped me a lot in my day to day work.

What’s different?

I have higher responsibility than when I was working at Maverick. Since now I am on the development team, I am using different programming languages, frameworks and technologies. I also need to become familiar with the entire NetBackup product rather than just a specific part of the product.

How has working for Maverick prepared you for the full time work force?

The experience I gained at Maverick was very valuable because I learned what it is like to work in a real-world software industry. I could have never gained this kind of experience/knowledge from any textbooks or classes I took at the university. Also, I learned the importance of testing while developing during my time at Maverick.

What advice would you give to students currently working for Maverick?

I would suggest Mavericks to start developing soft skills such as communication, team work and interpersonal skills as early possible. These kinds of skills are difficult to achieve simply by reading books. Maverick provides a good opportunity to develop these and other soft skills as it connects the college students to real world software industry.

What are your future plans and goals that relate to your career and/or technology?

Since the IT industry and the technology is always changing, I am always striving to develop my technical skills. I am learning new programming languages and new frameworks that are fresh in the IT industry.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the tech industry over the next 5 years?

The course content taught in most of the universities is not up to date with what is being used in the industry nowadays. There is very little emphasis on testing and debugging skills. The schools (including high schools) should also include computer science for younger students as early as possible to ensure that they will develop the keenness in the programming field.