Summer jobs play a big role in the career development of young professionals

Summer, the best season of the year is here once again!

For many of us who have been in working life for a while already, summer represents holidays, relaxation, and forgetting about work for a few weeks. At the same time, for many students, it is quite the opposite – an opportunity to work full-time and gain valuable experience. At their best, summer jobs can help a person find his or her passion for a certain industry and shape the foundations for a life-long career path.

Summer jobs at Bluugo – Meaningful work with diverse tasks

Bluugos experts represent some of the top-level know-how of their respective fields. They also know how to operate the coffee machine in the break room by themselves – we have no need or desire to hire summer workers for that.

At Bluugo, we want to offer every employee meaningful and diverse tasks that challenge them to become even better at what they do. That is why we only hire seasonal workers based on actual business needs. This ensures a pleasant and adequately challenging working experience for our summer workers, while also being a long-term investment in future professionals on Bluugos's behalf.

This year, we have strengthened our team with 3 summer workers. There was no shortage of competent candidates and open applications kept coming at a steady pace throughout the winter and spring. It has been really nice to see how Bluugo draws the attention of students from some of the best schools around!

Summer 2020 – Meet the team

Ken Riippa

Hi! I am Ken Riippa from Helsinki, a first-year student in Aalto University’s Information Networks Programme. I am working at Bluugo’s Machine Learning team for the summer.

So far, I’ve been working with a computer vision-based deep learning model which is used to automatically read identification plates from cargo containers. The model will drastically cut down the need for manual work and save thousands of man-hours. I have been given quite free hands on the project and also given responsibility for the progress. I’ve learned loads about programming and other topics such as enhancing user experience.

While working at Bluugo, It has been great to meet experts from different fields and see how for example a CEO, Sales Director, Marketing Manager, or Project Manager really operates. It has helped me form a deeper understanding of how things are done in “the real world” compared to the more academic world of a university.

Ken working on his deep learning model.

Juho Lommi

Hello! Juho Lommi here, a first-year Computer Science student from Tampere University. I’ve thought Bluugo as a highly interesting company, so when an opportunity to work here for the summer presented itself, I did not hesitate to seize it.

Working here has been really cool. I’ve been involved in many development projects such as enhancing the UI and usability of Bluugo’s Tracking Cloud™ platform and creating a new product website to support the company’s international growth. My work tasks have been motivating and the inspiring atmosphere has allowed me to constantly learn new things throughout my whole time here.

Another neat aspect about working at Bluugo’s Vantaa office has been observing the work of professionals from various sectors. It has been intriguing to see how e.g. sales or marketing are done in a growing software company. The things I’ve learned here will definitely be valuable in the future!

"You're missing a square bracket there..." Joel points out to Juho.

Joel Juhela

Hello there, I’m Joel Juhela. I currently live In Otaniemi, Espoo and will soon start my third year of studies at Aalto University’s Information Networks Programme.

I’ve been working part-time at Bluugo for almost two years now, and for the summer I’m here full-time. Working at Bluugo has been highly interesting and my tasks very diverse (e.g. video editing, producing print materials, website design, web development, etc.). Last summer I produced a Django-based product configurator for Bluugo, which is still in use today. This year I’ve been in charge of the technical execution of Bluugo’s new Tracking Cloud™ product page.

These projects have offered me an opportunity to do my own thing and continuously develop my skills in a very rewarding way. I’ve also learned a lot about working together in diverse development projects and many good practices which will without a doubt prove useful in the future!

Universities are adapting to the needs of the software industry

Watching our summer workers busy at work in the past weeks has resurfaced thoughts on a topic that’s been discussed a lot in the last few years – the so-called lack of coders in Finland.

When talking about expertise and know-how in the software industry, the discussion almost always revolves around specific technologies or programming languages. Mastering these tools is of course an integral part of a coder’s skillset, but when working with modern digital solutions, a much wider perspective is needed.

A top-level coder must also understand the principles and relations of the core business processes in the B2B sector, and the growing significance of usability and user experience. A strong understanding of programming methodologies, principles, databases, and data structures – the 101 of computer science – is in turn a precondition for learning new technical skills. When these boxes are all ticked, learning new programming languages and technologies should be relatively quick and straightforward.

Observing our summer team working, it has been nice to see that the above-mentioned things seem to be in a good state and universities are actively shaping their programmes to support them. Our skilled trio has embraced Bluugo’s technology stack very quickly, making it possible for them to work in essential roles instead of just practicing new things.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been pleasantly surprised on multiple occasions – the roles have shifted, and it has been me who’s learning something new from our young experts. I have no doubt that in the future Joel, Juho, and Ken will be seen in top positions of the industry. A big thank you for your work at Bluugo!

-Rami Juhela

CEO, Bluugo Oy