I am a Master of Science in Genetics and Bioengineering and recently I have found my first full-time job at one of the best programming companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nothing special, you might say, as there are many people from different branches who learn programming, gain other skills at their own pace and start a new career as developers, QA engineers, SREs, or project managers.
However, the fact is that I did not have to change my career path and become a programmer, although I was ready to learn whatever was necessary and acquire new skills, if needed. “What does a geneticist and scientist do in a programming company?”, you might ask now. 🤔 Let me tell my story. It is worth reading — I am saying this not because it is my story, but because of its moral and motivation.
How everything started
Everything started in April this year, while I was in my first year of Ph.D. studies, volunteering as a Bioinformatics Teaching Demonstrator at my university, attending conferences, writing scientific articles, etc. At that time, I started questioning my professional career and thinking about an ideal job.
Well, I hadn’t found myself in the laboratory settings — working with all that laboratory stuff wasn’t exciting and attractive enough to me. Therefore, I started looking around for something else — something computer-based.
In that time, I had a lot of experience in content creation and scientific writing, with several scientific papers published, and little experience with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and digital marketing. I felt it was a perfect time to brush up more on these skills or start learning something new.
Hence, I started learning programming languages like Python and R on my own, as they can be widely applied in bioinformatics (e.g. DNA sequences analysis) and biostatistics (e.g. biological data analysis). I found these very interesting and started to think about developing all the necessary skills for directing my career towards projects that combine computer sciences and life sciences.
Research on HealthTech Projects
My next step was to search out if any company in my country deals with bioinformatics, health-tech, or biotech projects. I started googling and talking to my professors, colleagues, and friends. Finally, I found Ministry of Programming (MoP), the IT company in our country that supports, invests in, and collaborates on several health-tech products such as War on Cancer, Werlabs, and Corsmed,
I was delighted, as it looked just like something I wanted to discover. Then I spent half of the month investigating and questioning everything regarding the MoP and these health-tech projects. I also consulted my friends and colleagues working at MoP and other IT companies about company policies and relevant contacts that I could use to reach them.
Big thanks go to Tatjana Vučić, my personal coach and mentor from Bosnia & Herzegovina Futures Foundation, who helped me investigate and gather necessary information regarding IT companies in our country. Her advice and endless support were crucial.
Finally, I found out that MoP allows young people to develop and strengthen their skills via internship opportunities. Young people have a chance to be hired if they demonstrate excellent performance. I thought, “Great! Here we go! “
How I met my mentor
The extent of my search will be best explained if I tell you that I investigated even people employed there. As a result of that, a particular person attracted my attention — Edin Hamzić. I opened his LinkedIn profile and got fascinated and encouraged by his background. He is also a geneticist, holding a Ph.D. degree and working as a biological data scientist at MoP. Then I said, “Great, there is a geneticist in a programming company, and he is the best person to be my mentor, as we have a similar scientific background! “
Then I made the most important decision in the whole story — I decided to reach out to Amer Klopic, Director of Talent Acquisition at MoP. I sent a lengthy e-mail introducing myself, my background, and how I can contribute to MoP, with my CV attached, of course.
However, I knew that to be noticed and get the opportunity in such a great company, my application (in this case an e-mail) has to stand out from others. Therefore, I went even a step further. Can you imagine someone contacting you for a potential internship opportunity at your company and saying that, after investigating your employees, he suggests a particular person be his mentor? That’s exactly what I did, suggesting and elaborating on why Edin is probably the best person to become my mentor.
The experience started with an internship
This is supposed to be one of the most important decisions in my life. Everything started with this e-mail. I passed three interviews and got a one month long internship in August. I cannot even describe how happy I was. Not only because of an internship opportunity at a famous and top-notch IT company, but also because my efforts and hard work paid off.
I joined BioCertica — a BioTech startup co-founded by MoP and a group of enthusiastic founders in South Africa. BioCertica deals with advanced genetic testing to unlock and interpret customers’ DNA. I joined as a Content Specialist Intern under the mentorship of Edin Hamzic.
My very first day
I remember the first day when I came to the office for onboarding. The HR representative introduced me to a company and the types of internships they offer. She was honest and explained that I got my internship based on proactivity and outstanding application, but that my position was experimental and did not mean I would get hired later — as they had never had a Content Specialist Intern position before. What would demotivate someone — motivated me instead! 😊 I thought, “Okay, I appreciate your honesty, but I will do my best to give you all a good reason to hire me after the internship. “
And that’s how I approached this opportunity — worked very hard from the very first day, sometimes overtime, questioning and investigating everything related to the project. Also, I was doing my best to get involved as much as possible — doing not only content-related tasks but also a little bit of QA, SEO, and supporting the marketing side.
And finally… A full-time job offer
I worked closely with my mentor and followed his advice: worked hard and smart, continued my proactivity and dedication. Finally, step by step, after a month, I got an internship extension.
After another month — I finally got a full-time job offer. I have succeeded. I am officially the first person to get employed as a Content Specialist at MoP. It was like a dream come true.
Thanks to my mentor Edin Hamzic for his exceptional and honest support and knowledge shared in the previous two months. He was always there when I needed help and advice. I am thrilled to continue collaborating with him and other colleagues at BioCertica and MoP. I am delighted to continue working and developing my skills and to learn more from my enthusiastic colleagues.
I am pleased to join MoP, as it is the perfect place for everyone to develop their skills and learn more, being constantly surrounded by enthusiastic and fantastic people. Also, I am happy that there is enough space for scientists to work at a programming company.
Moral of the story
You see — everything started with my proactivity, research, and an e-mail. Therefore, I want to encourage young people in my country that it is possible to find a job here! You do not have to leave our beautiful country! You do not always have to change your profession to get hired. Instead, persuade people that your expertise and skills are already a great match.
Be proactive and entrepreneurial! You don’t know when your efforts will finally get paid off and when your e-mail will come to the right person. Once it happens, only the sky is the limit. If I have achieved success, you can as well! This is my success story. The next one can be yours!