#networklabs

"The future is not something we travel to. It's something we build together." -- Marlo Tong

NetworkLabs is a research laboratory which focuses on the future. Just like the quote above, they believe that we will be the ones building the future. And throughout the talk of Marlo Tong as a company introduction, I learned a few things.

Technology advances. NetworkLabs focuses on innovation. They believe that technology grows. They expect that by 2020, there is 100% increase in data which means that there is a need for an improved and enhanced technologies to support it. Today, there is a new wave of apps or use cases which are the following: consumer clouds, car 2 car, augmented reality, seamless browsing, network games, video calling, and virtual reality. Compared to back then, things are way different to these technologies.

Learning never stops. NetworkLabs believes that there is no reason to stop learning, growing and/or discovering. That is why, they value some engineering and quality practices. In NetworkLabs, I learned that they have pair programming wherein you will be paired with someone in some projects so that even while working, you can still learn in such a way that you learn with the help of your partner. They also have continuous integration, coding standards, and a collective code ownership.

What I really like about NetworkLabs is that they have a flat career map. It means that you can experience all job roles. If you are a developer, you can be a manager but still you can still come back to becoming a developer. It's like a cycle, which lets you try all so that you can know how it feels like which will let you discover what you really like.

Creativity. In NetworkLabs, they are paid for their creativity. They are a research laboratory which aims to research and innovate. That is why, they have a creative work environment which helps employees to be comfortable. It helps ideas flow through them. They have xbox, KTV, board games, yoga, massage, capoeira, and sports fest.

I also learned that they somehow value culture. I observed that in ever floor, there are different themes: Finland, Asia, and Philippines. In the Philippines side, they even have a jeepney inside since they are proud with what Philippines has. I think they like to emphasize that whatever culture you have, you are welcome.

With all these learning and insights about NetworkLabs, I think Networklabs is not for me. Yes, they have good facilities and all. But I noticed that they are more focused on the technical side which is not my forte. I do program but not that hard core. Also, when we went to their laboratory, I really did not understand a thing that the speaker said. It is too technical. What I just learned is that they have BTS which means Base Transceiver System for radio signals for the software that the developers are making. Or is it?

Anyway, I'm still thankful that I got the chance to be exposed in a company like that. I somehow gained some insights about companies like it. And now, I realized that being a developer alone is not really what I want to be when I graduate. Being a developer alone is very technical. I want something that balances technicality and management. I want to explore different job roles in the future.