FB

From Biology to Technology. Interview with István Szabó

IMG_7894

István Szabó works at Sigma Technology as Technical Writer since 2011. István is the person who enjoys challenges and has out-of-the-common life path. We met István and asked him to share his story.

 István, tell us about your background.

I’m coming from the Eastern part of the country, small Hungarian village. At university, I studied Biology and at that time nobody could say that I would become a technical guy. It was unexpected for my first employer, famous telecom company, to receive a CV for the System Engineer position from a person with Master’s Degree in Biology. However, after a short adaptation period I received that position and became an expert in the telecom field. I was working with both software and hardware, so after my work there I could include hands-on experience with base station controllers to my CV.

Then, when I came to Sigma Technology, I got a position of a Technical Writer, which was completely new for me. Such things teach me that everything you learn at school or elsewhere will be useful. Biology taught me to think in a system – it helped me a lot in work.

I love to stay with a problem, explore new things and learn all the time. Recently I have bought a new house, and it’s my pleasure to get acquainted with all repairing and polishing work.

What do you value in your work with Sigma?

What I love in Sigma is that I have the opportunity to do things I love. Apart from my technical writer position, I’m also supporting the team with IT, which helps me to strengthen my IT knowledge and learn some development things.

Another important thing for me is the team spirit and supportive management in the company, which helps a person to develop and grow. With Sigma, I have it, and it is very valuable.

Tell us about the specifics of technical writer position.

As a technical writer you have to learn the product that you are documenting. Developers and internal documents can help a lot but the most useful when you see the new product working. Then imagine yourself as a user of that product to find out what kind of information to put into the product documentation and what would be the most effective way to provide it. Practically, it’s programming of human minds.

Do you like to work in the international company?

Yes, to my mind, it is a great benefit for the company. It enables extensive knowledge sharing, when employees are not restricted to the local office, but can receive help from other locations.

Interesting experience for me here at Sigma was my first assignment, where I had to travel to Stockholm for two months. It is interesting because before I came here, I decided not to travel a lot on business trips, because of family matters, and then I got the very first assignment with a business trip to Sweden. Nevertheless, I still think that Stockholm is the best place I have ever been to and it became a reason for me to start learning Swedish. And luckily we have Swedish courses in our Budapest office.

What is Technology for you?

For me, technology means future. Several years ago the price of solar panels and other renewable energy sources was extremely high. Over the time, the technology developed, and soon solar and wind energy will become more common and accessible. I find it amazing. And I’m looking forward to finding a project where I could contribute to the development of renewable energy technology.

We thank István for an interesting talk and wish him luck in developing his professional experience with IT and Technology.

Want to know more about life at Sigma Technology? Read interviews with our employees from other locations.