Countryside to Mountainside - My Instil Life

17 February 2022

Find out how I switched my working life as a Software Engineer from the NI countryside to life on the slopes in Switzerland.

I have been with Instil for three great years now, moving from Graduate Engineer, to Engineer, to now Senior Engineer (makes me sound old). When I first joined the Instil crew I worked 5 days a week in the office, drinking far too much coffee and eating far too many Boojums. Then, you know, the world pandemic hit and well, currently I work 100% remote from Switzerland where I live with my new husband (new as in we recently got married, not new as in swapped an old one out for a new one…). 

The Journey

Instil has always supported me, both in my career journey and my life journey. Despite now living a flight away, I still feel connected with Instil, sometimes making the trip back over to the office. Instil often sends us little gifts, for example, chocolate at Easter, and they always make the extra effort to make sure I get the gift too, keeping me as included as I can be from afar! 

When you work at Instil you really feel part of a family, working with people who care for you as a person first and as an employee second. That being said, Instil will always encourage you to push yourself in your career, helping you to grow in your expertise, whether that be through training courses, conferences or just supporting you in your own personal learning; If you grow as an individual, Instil grows with you.

Technology

One great thing about Instil is that the company itself actually runs training courses all over the world and now virtually too. As an employee, these experienced trainers are literally a message or email away. Whenever you want, you can take any of the offered training courses and get access to any of the learning materials you so desire. This helps to keep us as individuals and as a company up to date with the latest and greatest technologies. 

Since working in the company I have worked on a variety of projects, seeing a couple of them go from nothing to completion. This is very satisfying, to build something up from nothing. It is also very interesting to be involved in the architectural decisions and the technical decisions that will shape a project. 

As we know, technology is always changing, so at Instil we know we have to too. We are always adapting the technologies we use in our projects to reflect the trends and of course always considering what is appropriate for the work at hand. This reactive mindset has allowed me to work with a great selection of technologies, languages, frameworks etc. This for me is a super important part of the job. I like to be challenged and pushed to learn new things.

Work Life Balance

Another important thing for me that I get from Instil is trust. They give me the space and freedom I need to work how I work best (which can differ each day). They give me the tools I need to work at my best and support my working styles and habits.

Everyone is different, right? So why would we all want to work in the same environment, at the same time, with the same schedule? Doesn’t make a lot of sense really, does it? Instil really gets that. So if you have kids to drop at school in the morning, go for it, if you prefer a longer lunch to really unwind, go for it, if you are really not a morning person and want to start later, go for it. Instil wants you to feel like you are in control of your own working schedule. Personally, I like to hit the slopes in the winter when I can, and Instil (albeit with some jealousy) gives me the flexibility to do so. In summer, sometimes a longer lunch can be nice to get out and enjoy the sun.

Anyway, that’s enough boasting about my wonderful new home. I have to finish off by saying thanks to Instil for letting me follow my heart here to Switzerland, and supporting me through each step of that process. I can only hope you work for a company as cool as mine. If you don’t, you should probably check out our careers page. Peace out for now.

Emma.

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Emma Moinat

Senior Engineer & AWS Community Builder