Read stories of Martians from all over the world, highlighting their experiences at Deimos, their roles, how they feel about remote working, and tips for anyone interested in working at Deimos.

Today’s spotlight is on Michael Jozefowicz, a software engineer intern at Deimos based in Cape Town, South Africa, who shares his journey of becoming a software engineer after working as a documentary filmmaker and writer.

How would you describe your experience as a software engineer intern at Deimos?

Exciting, challenging, and sometimes terrifying. These are the first thoughts that come to mind. It’s a strange feeling, stepping into a completely new industry, but Deimos has made it as painless as possible. No matter what I’ve struggled with, my fellow Martians have always been there to shine a light on tricky hurdles. Deimos has some of the most talented individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of learning from, and every one of them has freely shared their experiences with me. 

Tell us about your background before you joined Deimos.

Before joining Deimos, I was an independent documentary filmmaker and writer. A very different field. Productions I’ve worked on have appeared on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Showmax, and M-Net. Unfortunately, things did not go quite as intended in the end.

What motivated you to want to be a software engineer?

I’ve always been fascinated by programming and gadgets. Even at a young age, I used to spend hours upon hours fiddling with anything I could get my hands on. At the time, I had already decided that I wanted to be a programmer, but I fell in love with movies and decided to pursue a career in filmmaking instead. It was only when COVID-19 hit that I felt it was time to make a change and pursue the thing that had fascinated me for so long. 

What have you learnt during your software engineering internship?

Where do I even begin? When I arrived at Deimos, I struggled with the simplest of tasks. Even centering a div used to drive me round the bend to put it in context. Now, I find myself working with technologies that I thought would take me years to grasp on a daily basis. 

What is your favourite part about working at Deimos?

The people. No doubt about it. The work culture at Deimos is incredible. I love that I’ve been able to contribute to different types of projects during my internship. The experiences I’ve gained working on internal as well as client projects have been especially rewarding. It’s wonderful knowing that I have been so involved, even at my level. 

Do you have any tips for aspiring Martians?

If you’re interested in starting a career as a software engineer, but you’re unsure if you can actually do it, remember this: If some old dude like me with no prior experience can get this far, then so can you. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Just go for it!