Job Shadowing is one of the most important aspects to consider when deciding on a career. The internet can give you a lot of insight into a specific career, but nothing beats hands on experience.
One cold day in July, Zandre Niewoudt walked in at the Polymorph offices. Hungry to learn more about what it’s like to be a mobile developer, this grade 11 student from Paul Roos Gymnasium, was excited to jump in and get to work. On arrival he received a warm welcome from Wim and Richard. They introduced him to Percy and Ryno, two Android developers. And that’s when the fun began.
Ryno and Percy showed him around the office and gave him a glimpse into the world of remote working. Not only was he tickled by the idea of developing apps for mobile but also by the design of mobile products and how these two interlink. Thanks to the awesome designers at Polymorph we were able to explain the role of design in mobile development to him.
Zandre had an idea for an app. An app that would track your location using GPS. This app would then turn your phone’s profile to a certain volume, when leaving or entering a certain area. For example, the app would put your phone on silent when entering the school ground.
After explaining some of the basics of Android development to him, they set off to bring his brainchild to life. After two days of hard work, they had a working prototype. He was very excited about the project, so he took the code with him with the idea to go and improve it in his own time.
“On the second of July I, Zandre Nieuwoudt,arrived at Polymorph not knowing what to expect. As I arrived, I was friendly greeted by Wim and Richard, the CEO’s of Polymorph.” Zandre wrote. “Afterwards, I went on with Ryno and Percy to get a better understanding of what they do for a living. They then showed me how they program and even let me do some of the coding.”
Overall it was a fun experience for all of us. We hope Zandre has learned something, so that he can make an informed decision regarding his future.
