Daniel Serafim – Life as a Young Graduate in Software Engineering

Hey everyone! I’m Daniel Serafim. Let me tell you why I left the sunny Portuguese countryside behind and decided to start my professional journey at Twipe. Since early 2023, I’ve dipped my toes into two different teams as a part of the Young Graduate Software Engineering Programme. 

After finishing my studies in Lisbon, I knew I wanted to start applying the knowledge I had acquired in my university career. However, with a Masters specialisation in Game Development, I soon realised I did not see myself pursuing a career in this field. I was therefore drawn to the diverse learning opportunities of a Young Graduate Programme to discover my true calling in Software Engineering. Eager for a new challenge and to broaden my cultural experiences, I found Twipe on LinkedIn. A challenging but rewarding interviewing process later and I was ready to make an impact and learn by doing! 

During my time in the team, I levelled-up my skills: learning the ropes with Amazon’s AWS services, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the project, and even independently conducting customer meetings.

I started my journey in the Data and AI team focusing on JAMES, our recommendation trigger engine that powers our personalised email newsletters. During my time in the team, I levelled-up my skills: learning the ropes with Amazon’s AWS services, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the project, and even independently conducting customer meetings. All this, plus an incredible team, helped me kick my impostor syndrome to the curb and step up my confidence game. 

Twipe’s culture has been significant to this personal development. Whether it’s a casual chat by the coffee machine, a competitive game of kicker during lunch (that’s foosball for the uninitiated), or even at an activity after work. You will always find a like-minded, warm and friendly face to welcome you and help you out when needed. Perhaps you might even find some partners in crime to go on a spontaneous French road trip, to carry you on their shoulders at a festival, or even to visit a Michelin start restaurant in Amsterdam with along the way! 

And kicker? It’s serious business here. But don’t sweat the leaderboard – I’ve had my share of losses (an almost record-breaking 22 in a row, to be exact). I even secured a joint ‘Crawl King’ title at the very prestigious annual Twipe awards for my “impressive” 10-0 losses. But guess what? I’ve hustled my way up and now I can hold my own against Twipe’s very own kicker masters. 

All in all, a year down the line, I am incredibly happy to have moved to Belgium joined Twipe.  

Starting your professional life can be daunting, but Twipe provides the perfect mix of support and challenge that has made me grow significantly, both personally and professionally. 

Thinking of taking your first professional steps and hungry to explore different flavours of Software Engineering? Twipe’s Young Graduate program in Software Engineering is the way to go!