Share this
by Seven Peaks on Feb 28, 2022 11:21:00 AM
A story by Massimo Dradi – Senior .NET developer at Seven Peaks Software
About Massimo
Massimo Dradi is an experienced .NET Developer with over seven of professional experience.
He is known to be a technology explorer and a problem solver, being able to use his skills to foresee upcoming trends to continuously evolve his professional abilities.
Around the world and back
Massimo grew up and worked in Italy before deciding to see the world outside of his home country.
His journey first started back in 2015, with Australia being his first destination followed by the Philippines.
“It came to the point where I had to decide if I wanted to settle down in Italy or not. So, my eventual answer was no. All my friends were buying a car, renting a house and doing all kinds of things back at home. Instead, I took the chance to go abroad and see the world.
I went to Australia with a work & holiday visa and stayed there for a full year. I traveled around the West Coast. I then went to the Philippines to travel for a few months, went back to Italy after that for a while, then ended up traveling back to Australia for another full year.” – explained Massimo
Then, suddenly, Thailand lined up in between Massimo’s sights while he was browsing for jobs abroad on the web.
Massimo explained that if it wasn’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, he would be living elsewhere in the world, but for now, he is very happy with his life in Bangkok, Thailand.
“I decided to give it a go in Thailand, as it was a particular country that I have never visited before. I planned to stay [in Thailand] for one full year, until the point where I liked the country so much that I extended my stay here to three years.
I really like Bangkok. It feels like you’re in the middle of everything, you can jump here and there. Now with the COVID restrictions it’s very different of course, but during the first year that I stayed here, it was like ‘let’s travel every week!’. It is a very exciting place!” – exclaimed Massimo
Life of a .NET developer at Seven Peaks Software
“I like the fact that our company [Seven Peaks Software] is growing, I can see things improving every day here. It is a good challenge for me.” – stated Massimo
Being a .NET developer is not a completely new job for Massimo, as he has extensive experience in his field and had joined other companies in Bangkok before joining us at Seven Peaks Software as well, however, he still finds this position here at Seven Peaks Software to be a fresh new challenge.
“It’s more like soft skills because I never really worked at large companies during my career. So, [at Seven Peaks Software] I had the chance to work with the bigger teams, big clients, and coordinate with more people than before; which is challenging.
I needed to get used to it, but I always receive great support from the entire team at Seven Peaks Software – especially with one of their focuses being to ensure that people grow within the company. They don’t just take people and use them, then move onto the next candidate, but instead they really do invest their time into their own employees so that we can perform the best that we can.
In general, the relaxed culture in Seven Peaks is the thing that I appreciate the most.
Also while working here, I enjoy the social activities, Friday bars hosted at the office space, and the time spent together with colleagues – which are the highlights of working at Seven Peaks Software for me.” – explained Massimo.
From exotic annual trips, to free lunches, to flexible working hours, to social activities, to much more. Seven Peaks Software always makes sure to offer top-notch benefits for our employees.
Massimo told us that these activities allowed him to exchange ideas with other industry leaders in the software development, UX UI Design, and digital marketing related fields – all at Seven Peaks Software’s office in the heart of Bangkok.
“In general, the relaxed culture in Seven Peaks is the thing that I appreciate the most.” – Massimo
Meaningful projects
Massimo joined our team in the summer of June, 2021. Since then, he has been working extensively on Starboard, a premium windsurfing & paddle boarding brand, which he found to be a really interesting project to work on.
“I think the projects that we get to work on in general are cool projects because it’s the young, dynamic team members who always make the work interesting to do, it’s even a kind of a pleasure to be in meetings.
We use .NET for the backend development and Angular for the frontend. It’s challenging because of the uniqueness of the client business. However, I do enjoy the workload! I’m happy with that. I strive to do a great job to ensure the happiness of our clients.” – shared Massimo
Advice for those looking to work in Thailand
For anyone who is considering relocating to work abroad in Thailand, Massimo has confidently suggested it to be a great career move with a greater chance to see the world and broaden your knowledge, experience, and life skills. Plus, you also get to travel to many exotic places on the weekends too!
“You should enjoy learning and improving constantly as a human being.” – says Massimo on how cultural differences have changed his understanding of people from around the world.
“In Italy, we tend to be a lot more direct and say things straightforward. But when you meet and collaborate with people from all around the world [like at Seven Peaks Software], you need to adapt to different norms, cultures, and understand people from a new perspective. It’s a lot more about solving problems using an indirect approach.
I’m happy that I made the decision that I’m going to live in Thailand for years to come. Just living the moment will get you through happily – which helps to keep on going.
If anyone wants to try a new place in the future, I would say move to Southeast Asia as it’s the future here. I like the weather, the food, and the beautiful places you can travel to in one or two hours from the office. It’s very different from other parts of the world.” – said Massimo.
Moreover, Massimo personally sees more opportunities to create something new in Thailand due to the rapid growth of Southeast Asia with Bangkok emerging as one of the top tech hubs inside the region, where he feels that he can have a progressive and exciting career.
“You should enjoy learning and improving constantly as a human being.” – Massimo
Long-term plans
“I’m just living in the moment and will keep it like this for a while.” – stated Massimo
Massimo feels comfortable with his life in Thailand and wants to enjoy this moment as much as possible. When he feels like he needs a new challenge or a new adventure in life, it will begin in the next three or more years ahead, he explained.
Conclusion
To conclude, working abroad opened up doors to new opportunities for Massimo’s career and personal life. These new challenges and experiences allowed Massimo to improve his soft skills, life skills, cultural skills, traveling skills, and backend development skills all in one journey.
Are you a developer interested in cracking codes abroad in a country like Thailand? Visit our Careers page with new open positions that are waiting to be filled!
