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Alvin Zhao

As a protégé developer, there is a lot of responsibility to be self-organised and make sure you’re making the most out of the opportunity.

What's is being a Protégé all about?

MYOB’s Future Maker’s Academy is all about providing a solid foundation for those beginning their software development career. My responsibility was to identify and strengthen my core skills, under the tutelage of my experienced mentors, as well as learning from and teaching the other proteges around me. Once I demonstrated key learning objectives, I was given the opportunity to rotate into different teams and learn, experience, and apply myself to deliver an impact on MYOB products and systems. 

In a typical day I was doing a lot of collaboration with mentors and the other proteges, working together on a software challenge and learning from each other. My days were really flexible, and I had the chance to really learn and dive deep into concepts at my own pace. I usually set goals for myself each week and I would discuss these with my mentors and plan out what I should learn next. It’s was an amazing experience getting to learn on the job and it’s really helped to build my confidence as a software developer.

The culture at MYOB is great, I feel like I could talk to anyone, and they will always try to make time for me. There is a real emphasis on continually growing and everyone is happy to help out the protégés

What's your background?

I grew up in South East Melbourne, and had a very generic life. I’ve always enjoyed computers and computer games since I was a kid, but when I tried Robotics in Primary School I found it really tough even though I really wanted to be good at it. 

I thought maybe programming was not for me until I first learnt PHP in high school and made a lot of my own cool projects that I was eager to show off to my friends and family. 

Looking back they weren’t very impressive but I chose to study Computer Science at University because I thought I had found my passion. My grades were awful, and I had even failed a few units, but I knew I wanted to be a programmer so I continued working hard on other side projects and self-learning a few things not taught at uni. When it came to my final year, I was unsuccessful at landing any internships or industry-related work experience, and when I was applying to MYOB the recruitment process and culture just felt so different, like they really cared about developing the cohort of the Future Maker’s academy, that when I received the offer, I felt like a weight had been lifted and I was really excited about joining.

I got my protégé offer from MYOB in the middle of my final year at uni, and I’ve been at MYOB since. I joined the program in February 2021, I spent 10 months including rotations before graduating as an Associate Developer. 

What's the coolest thing about being a Protégé?

I really enjoyed the guided learning and discussions I have with my mentors, and having that supportive environment around me, where I can learn from and teach to others our own challenges and experiences. There was always someone to provide a different outlook on something and always someone to have a conversation with. 

Are there any limitations to being a Protégé ?

As a protégé developer, there is a lot of responsibility to be self-organised and make sure you’re making the most out of the opportunity. It can be so easy to be complacent and do the bare minimum but in order to do get the most out of the FMA, one needs to be invested in learning as much as you possibly can; don’t be afraid to ask questions (something I have always struggled a lot with) – I found that it really pays to be passionate about software development. Really there aren’t limitations – it’s about putting in, what you want to get out. 

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

  • Don’t get side-tracked by the small things, focus your learning on the big picture.
  • Join and participate in some clubs/associations, try to build up those interpersonal skills, even if it makes you uncomfortable at first.
  • Your parents are not always right!!! Have some more faith in your own decisions.