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Balazs Hoffmann: from Professional Canoeing to Data Consultant

My name is Balazs Hoffmann. I am a Data Engineering Consultant at Devoteam M Cloud. Originally, I am from Hungary. I used to be a professional sportsman in a U23 canoeing team. In Budapest, I studied accounting and finance and attained a bachelor’s degree at Milton Friedman University. Since March 2019 I’m living in The Netherlands. I love this country because the people are kind and everyone knows their tasks and craft. This is a country, where professionalism meets with precision in my opinion, which are traits I aspire to have as well.

Before COVID-19, I realized I was interested in IT, especially combined with the domains of Finance and Accounting. I attended many online boot camps such as Data365, Udemy, Edureka, Freecodecamp, and so on. It was then I discovered my fascination with Data Science and Machine Learning. I mostly like stock exchange predictions, anomaly detection, and natural language processing themes. Additionally, I have completed a very interesting and strong academic program via Integrify.io, which is a Machine Learning and Data Science program. This program contained advanced-level Python, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and so on. The Integrify Academy was held in Helsinki, Finland. What I am most proud of during this program is that, from all participants, I became second (just after someone with an MIT Ph.D.) and won a new role in the data field. Thank you Integrify!

From Data trainee to Data Engineering Consultant

Devoteam was an excellent option for me so I started as a trainee focused on Data. The traineeship was extraordinarily good with the various materials and lots of patience from senior mentors along the way. The equipment I got in the beginning (laptop, phone, software, etc.) was perfect, which showed Devoteam’s professionalism in my opinion. All the study materials were almost immediately arranged for and the colleagues were very helpful and friendly. I quickly understood the operations and most frequent processes of the company and adapted to the culture quite fast.

During the program, the daily standups were very useful. The standups assured us that we were not alone with particular problems or issues and that there was always a helping hand. Luckily, I was given the best wingman in the company: Bart Prikker. His professionalism, patience, willingness, and tutoring abilities are remarkable. He led me through the program, answered the necessary questions, and believed in me. So thank you, Bart!

I would recommend this traineeship program to everyone who is interested in Data, DevOps, Integration, or Software Engineering. The program really prepares you for the real challenges and different business problems that are out there.

Next to my job: hobbies and activities

I like many sports activities, but mostly running, working out, and race biking. In the future, I’m planning to implement an academy for young people who want to practice canoeing as a sport. Additionally, I like reading and I am studying the Dutch language, which is not so easy, especially because the Hungarian language is not similar to any language in Europe (the far-away neighbors or relatives are Finnish and Estonian).

What I am most proud of

I am really proud that I am on my way, which means I came here based on my own merit and power. I would like to say to all people who struggle with finding their purpose and self-confidence in this world: there is a way. Everyone can build themselves up and attain small or big goals. Thank you Devoteam for playing a part in this!

About our traineeships

Learn more about our Young Professional career opportunities in the wonderful world of IT and our academy: the Devoteam Futures. Discover how we help you grow with our IT traineeships, which growth paths there are, and what other colleagues think about their development.