"From the north to the south of Germany." Our software developer Stefan Glatz.
My name is Stefan Glatz and I'm originally from Stade (near Hamburg). I am 36 years young and have been working as a software developer at S&P in Stuttgart since the beginning of March 2014. I have also been supervising our trainees since September 2020. After almost seven years in software development at S&P, I have never regretted my move to southern Germany.
Following my training as an IT specialist (system integration) and my subsequent studies in physics, I made a conscious decision to work as a software developer. In a way, I was always drawn back to the IT sector - after all, my Master's thesis was about a computer simulation. In my search for an employer, I followed my heart and my current wife to Stuttgart, which ultimately led me to S&P.
Itdefinitely never gets boring.
I prefer to start my working day early in the morning when the office is still empty. With a cup of coffee and some quiet music, I wake up "with the office", so to speak. This gives me enough time to get ready for the day. I get an overview of my upcoming appointments and due dates, check my emails and plan the day's tasks. The latter mainly arise from the two main areas of (further) development and technical design of our warehouse management software and support for the project teams. This results in a wide range of different tasks that go far beyond pure software development. From document printing, report creation with SQL, front-end development in Java, back-end development in C, implementing interfaces, creating scripts, design discussions and bug fixing, everything is included.
When I started at S&P, I was almost overwhelmed by the variety of topics. Even though my colleagues like to say otherwise, I found it rather difficult to find my way around the complex infrastructure, which I wouldn't want to do without today. Of course, there are also activities that I enjoy more or that motivate me more than others. In the end, it's the varied mix that excites me and makes every day at S&P so interesting. I particularly enjoy investing several days or weeks at a time in the development of a new feature.
In addition to my work as a software developer, supporting trainees has become an essential part of my day-to-day work. Preparing training material, checking training certificates, code reviews and providing support. All of this is part of my job and is a great enrichment for my day-to-day work. Although I have always enjoyed helping or explaining, I have also experienced first-hand how important a good teacher can be for realizing one's potential. That's why it's particularly important to me to support our trainees, arouse their interest and get them excited about new things. It is particularly important to me to take away their fear of supposedly complex topics and to strengthen their confidence in their own abilities.
Because at the end of the day, there are no secrets - everything is written down somewhere. Everyone has the opportunity, if they are interested, to read up on everything and understand it bit by bit. Ok, it's not quite that easy and not everyone is born to be a software developer. Diligence, logical thinking, analyzing problems, but also communication skills are certainly qualities that are difficult to do without. You should be open to change and move with the times. New tools, programming languages and methods are constantly emerging. These make it possible to develop faster and more robust software, reduce complexity or organize work better. Of course, you don't have to follow every new trend, but you shouldn't cling desperately to the past if there are objectively better solutions.
S&P as an employer
What I like most about S&P is the working atmosphere and the flat hierarchies. All doors are open to you, whether it's systems engineering, development, project management, marketing or management. If you have any concerns, problems or ideas, you can get in touch with your colleagues directly and will always be listened to. There is a real sense of togetherness in the teams, which is not a given in a company of this size. However, this is by no means a coincidence, but is actively encouraged. For example, it is customary for the workforce to get together several times a year for joint celebrations. Public festivals such as the Cannstatter Wasen, the Besenzeit, wine festivals, Christmas markets, user days, trade fairs and, of course, Christmas parties. In between these big events, there are also lots of spontaneous site or team-internal events such as joint barbecues or games evenings. With so many opportunities to get to know each other and have fun together, it's probably no surprise when I say that I already feel a bit at home at S&P.
Anyone who is part of one of the project teams will sooner or later have the opportunity to take part in a commissioning. Together with other team members, they will then spend several days on site at the customer's premises to supervise the smooth start-up of new warehouse components or sections. For the team, this is hopefully the crowning glory of months of planning and development work. In the process, far-reaching changes are often made during ongoing operations. There is therefore little room for error and if something does go wrong, quick action is required.
For me personally, commissioning was and is always a real highlight at S&P. Everything is suddenly completely different from everyday office life. And that is very refreshing. You're in a different environment and suddenly you only have one task. You don't even have to worry about food - you can get it at the hotel or restaurant. Of course, the working days are often long and it can get stressful, but you're usually not alone on site and you support each other. For me, the whole thing feels a bit like a vacation camp with work.
#Letstalkaboutyourhobby - Stefan in his spare time.
As I mostly just sit at my PC at work - apart from the occasional trip to the coffee machine - sport has become an integral part of my everyday life. I can be found jogging in the park after work or swimming a few lengths in the pool during my lunch break. In addition to the positive effect of staying fit and active, I particularly enjoy the fresh air when jogging. I use the time to think about things in peace or simply to switch off. On vacation, my wife and I are drawn out into nature to hike and explore, whether on the cliffs of Portugal or in the Alps. The main thing is the panorama. At the end of an action-packed day, we start looking for a restaurant to end the day in a relaxed manner. Back in Stuttgart, however, I'm responsible for catering again and prefer to cook dishes from Japanese cuisine. However, this always causes confusion among our Japanese guests, as my wife is Japanese. But everyone has enjoyed it so far, or at least they've all pretended to.
