About taksvärkki
Taksvärkki ry is an NGO (non-governmental organization) which started in Sweden to encourage farmers to get a day job. Nowadays, the target group has shifted towards middle schoolers, with the same goal: to gain experience in working life. The person working is not given a salary, however the employer will make a small donation to Taksvärkki ry to compensate. Taksvärkki has been one of the most profitable charity events held in Finland, as well as in Sweden.
Day at Polar Squad
After a lengthy process, I managed to secure a taksvärkki place at Polar Squad oy. Polar Squad is one of the companies managed by Sevendos - a group offering digital services and consulting. Polar Squad helps companies manage and scale their technologies to meet their customers' ever-changing demands. Already having some experience with the cloud framework, I was excited to get started.
That excitement only grew as I stepped into the grand entrance of Mikonkatu 13 A, the company’s office building. I was greeted by Anoop Vijayan, my employer, who guided me to my desk, where I would spend the day working. I was going to learn the basics of Python. I was a little nervous entering the coding world, as I am not an experienced programmer, but I decided to take the challenge headfirst. In order to learn coding, I was provided with a few tutorial videos, as well as instructions to download and learn how to use the Jupyter Notebook platform. Thanks to the clear instructions and videos, I was able to learn how to code much quicker than I would have ever thought before.
However, working life is not all about work. At Polar Squad, I noticed a strong work culture presence, which I was glad to be a part of. Even though there was a huge deadline due at the end of the day, my colleagues managed to take time out of the day to eat lunch with me. I decided to utilize the time to ask about working life and the current projects that Polar Squad is working on. I also found out a bit more about the company’s origins and previous locations.
Back at the office, I continued working on Python, as well as a little bit of JSON. After a lot of hard (but enjoyable!) work, I managed to code a simple website using Jupyter Notebook. Using a tool, with which I had no prior experience using, to make a tangible product felt validating and empowering.
A day of learning and lessons
Too soon did the end of the day come about, leaving with me a feeling of bittersweetness. I am so grateful for this experience and to all the people who provided the resources for me to work at Polar Squad. I had the opportunity to ask many questions and meet many new people, both which have changed my perception on working life. As the day came to an end, I felt a feeling of accomplishment, having achieved and learned new things, all of which I will carry on with in the future.
Thank you Polar Squad for this amazing experience.
Shreyansh Puppala
