Solita is a well-known digital business consulting company that develops and builds various kinds of services that promote digitalisation. Solita’s excellent, user-friendly services are aimed at both the private and public sectors, in Finland and abroad. Solita employs more than 470 professionals whose smiles do not fade even in the toughest situations. The team welcomes both senior professionals as well as those at the beginning of their careers. I sat down with Anniina and Niko to have a chat about what it’s like to be a software developer at Solita.
Working alongside studies is manageable
Niko joined Solita as a part-time summer employee in the spring of 2014, when his first job was to build Solita’s current intranet. Niko built the intra’s backend on a Confluence platform, and the intranet was implemented in early 2015. Following the intranet project, Niko was included in a team working on one of Solita’s long-term public sector projects.
Anniina, on the other hand, joined Solita early on in the autumn of 2016 and, after a two-week induction period, joined the same project Niko was working on. Anniina and Niko echo one another in saying that the reception at Solita was warm and starting to work here seemed easy. Joining Solita was particularly easy for Anniina, who already knew a few people from Solita before joining the company. In addition to working at Solita, both Anniina and Niko study computer science at the University of Helsinki. While both of them still have a little way to go in terms of their studies, combining and scheduling studies and work has seemed relatively easy so far. According to Anniina, the biggest challenge is wanting to put so much effort into both pursuits that there doesn’t always seem to be enough time to do both at the same time.
Anniina and Niko have enjoyed their time at Solita and working with their team that they describe as funny team. Anniina says that the best thing about Solita is its people and the fact that everyone can genuinely be themselves. Although neither Niko nor Anniina had had the chance to accumulate a lot of work experience before joining Solita, both have found it great that even experienced co-workers have approached them when facing a problematic situation and asked them for advice. Information is shared openly and actively with everyone. This has also encouraged Anniina and Niko to be active and to take the initiative, never once feeling like they are too young or unexperienced to do so. They both also like the fact that Solita does not use titles including the word Junior.
The appeal of Solita is in the active corporate culture that encourages a community spirit and self-development
The sense of community spirit among the team is maintained through various kinds of events and clubs, such as regular after-work get-togethers, where employees spend time together after a workday. In addition, Solita has a variety of competence communities and recreational clubs in which you can deepen your skills in for example information security or play table football during the workday.
According to Niko, a software developer’s job at Solita has been interesting, because it has given him the chance to be involved in the implementation of systems with social significance. He goes on to add that everyone here is continuously encouraged to develop their own skills in various ways. You can, for example, go and listen to an information session during your workday on various topics where anyone at Solita can share information with others. The active team also sees to it that information, practices and proven ways of working are shared among co-workers. This is how the practices described in the Solita Developer Manifesto, for example, drawn up to facilitate the routines of software developers, were created.
Everyone is allowed to use a certain number of days in a year for personal development. Both Anniina and Niko appreciate the fact that, while project work is conducted very independently, you can always get help from your own supervisor when you need it. At Solita, software developers are also encouraged to be in direct contact with customers. This saves time, as there is no need for unnecessary go-betweens. Niko also mentions that, when changing projects, he has been able to influence the kinds of projects in which he has been included.
Future dreams and tips for those wanting to pursue a career in software development
In the future, Anniina would like to develop her skills in data science, while Niko would want to grow into the role of a team manager. Neither wants to stop programming altogether – rather, it should continue to make up a part of their tasks in the future as well. Anniina’s and Niko’s tip for those planning a career in software development is to keep on top of the industry’s trends and technologies and to network with companies and other industry professionals. Niko thinks programming is fun once you find your thing. Finding the thing that gives you a kick and that you feel passionate about allows you to stay on top of things almost effortlessly, because that is when you have the courage to try new things, even if you never finalize them. Finally, both Anniina and Niko urge those interested in software development to be inquisitive about new things, even if they do not seem interesting at first. Both Anniina and Niko have learned that it’s better to do what you are interested in, rather than focusing on what you are good at, although you should, of course, play to your strengths. Focusing on what you are interested in, however, can open up entirely new opportunities that you may never have even thought of before.
The last – and perhaps most valuable – piece of advice they give to those still in school is that Solita offers various kinds of opportunities for people at the beginning of their careers. You can do real work on software development here, even while you’re still studying, Anniina and Niko say, once again echoing each other. There is always a demand for skilled people and competent team members.
Solita for students in a nutshell:
• you have the ability to work 3–4 days a week alongside your studies
• we will support your studies in various ways, for example you can work on your thesis for one month with us
• we will develop your skills continuously – you will learn from others and others will learn from you
• our friendly and competent team will make work fun
• you can influence the direction of your future career development
Work for us
Take a look at our current vacancies or send us an open application to rekry (a) solita.fi. We offer opportunities for both software and analytics professionals at different stages of their careers and hope to find long-term employees. We would also be very glad to hear from you if you are about to start or are in the process of writing your diploma or thesis.
Our essential recruitment criteria – also visible in our everyday work – are summed up in our corporate values: boldness, casualness, caring and passion. We also appreciate an understanding of the basics of software development as well as the modern tools and systems used, a broad skill set and a good ability to learn.
