In the 'on the floor at...' section, we interview ANVA colleagues about their roles, work and responsibilities inside and outside ANVA's doors. This time we speak with Max Uijlings, a 'fresh' face within the ANVA team.
Plus as an iOS and Android developer, maybe you felt at home in the Cobol matter more quickly?
"Partly, yes. Although I must honestly say that I also used to work a lot in the hospitality industry. So I also really liked the social aspect in my job as a car salesman. But the work as a Cobol developer indeed fits much better with my past in app development."
So you were still missing the papers for it. Was that a conscious decision?
"When I got out of high school I wanted to travel. I took a few years off and explored Australia. When I came back I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I started in the hospitality industry and also took a course of study. Soon I noticed that - precisely because I was already used to working life - I could no longer get used to the school rhythm. So I started to set up our own company with my father."
And so now with the Cobol training. So what makes the difference in that for you?
"Especially the combination of theory and practice. We started with external training at Mainmen and spent five weeks there taking the Cobol University specifically for ANVA employees. Then we started working internally within ANVA. In the meantime, I had the opportunity to take many courses on the software and how to use ANVA, and on the insurance industry. Then we got to work doing several internal internships. In the customer support department and with the consultants. We combine that with many practice assignments to get to know the software better."
Cobol is a very specific software in that respect. How do you find that working together with ANVA's software?
"That's right, Cobol is really unlike anything else. ANVA's software has been around for over 25 years. The package has grown and expanded considerably in that time. That sometimes makes it more complex to understand the technology. On the other hand, a lot of routines have been invented over the years that make life easier for us Cobol specialists. Nobody feels like reinventing the wheel ten times, right?"
Definitely not. What does that mean to you specifically?
"Above all, you need to know and be able to understand the basic ingredients. From there you can start focusing on fixing bugs or building new components within the software."
And what will you do first once you complete the course?
"Oy, good question. That depends a lot on the questions and problems within ANVA at the time. Maybe there are bugs that are easier to solve and that I may get stuck into, maybe I can already pick up something new with a colleague. I will still have to coordinate that with the team."
What would you like to do? Do you have a preference?
"Another good question. I like both and have no specific preference. If you can solve a bug you often go deep(er) into the matter. You can learn a lot from that, but it also means you have boundaries within which you work. On the other hand, if you are allowed to create new software, you are again working on your own piece. It both has its advantages and disadvantages."
Again, you can learn a lot from both.
"Absolutely! I think I will find out as I go along what suits me best. Looking at my past, where I spent ten years writing game programs, new development may suit me better. On the other hand, the Cobol language is very different. But, understanding the logic gets you a long way!"
Time will tell. Do you already know how you will be working later? Will you be paired with a buddy, for example?
"Yes, I will be working with Bernd. He has been working as a Cobol developer within ANVA for a long time and has a lot of knowledge about the programming and software. So that will be fine! I like the fact that he is there to guide me. During the training we saw a lot of information pass by. My programming knowledge has definitely helped me on my way; now it's time to put it into practice. You learn things best by doing it yourself. By figuring it out and applying it. That I get to use Bernd as a source of questions and, in addition, work together again with my father who is also a great source of information, feels very good to me."
And looking back, what is already an accomplished milestone for you?
"You ask me about that...I expected to find the practice assignments more difficult than it was in practice. Sure, in the beginning I found it very difficult to understand how the routines worked within ANVA. So also how Cobol is used within ANVA. But once you know the path and recognize the routines, you find your way. I think that's a nicely achieved milestone in the still short time I've been working with it."
You're absolutely right, Max! It's all about learning to understand how things work, so that you can then translate to engineering. You've come a long way!
