My colleague shared his story, which I bring to your attention as a long weekend for the weekend :)

Hello, reader!

My name is Alexander Abdullaev, I have been working with Veeam for 9 years. My career in IT over this time has developed quite unusual - we can say “diagonally”, and today I would like to talk about this. And also about how I became a “part-time worker” - a specialist in IT and a trainer in the gym. Perhaps, after reading my story, someone will see new horizons for themselves in work and in life, someone will have the courage to take a decisive step, or just take a closer look at their desires and aspirations and begin to embody them.
So, I invite you to cat.

From R&D to CIS, or from Jupiter to Orion

At first I worked in R&D and went from developer to Project Manager. It all started with work on the VeeamONE product, with popular technologies - .Net (C #), MSSQL, PowerShell. The team developed, grew, and we already began to engage in separate new projects related to the main one - Robocop, RainyDay, integration with Veeam Backup & Replication. A very interesting part of the projects that we also had in our work was writing plug-ins for service providers. There, I had to be a kind of "surgeon", engage in reverse engineering, parse, hack, sniff, etc.


Our team is VeeamONE. In a white T-shirt - Vitalik, our leader.

However, over time, I felt that my professional development was no longer as fast as before - in particular, due to the limitations of the technologies used in box development. Then I got a little bored. I can’t say that it became completely unbearable, but there was no longer the drive that was at the beginning of the journey. And I was thinking about leaving this area of ​​activity and doing something else, because there are a lot of interesting activities around, and our life is not limited to C #, SQL and PowerShell. And baby, son, I came to the Boss, and baby said that work well, but a little tired. The boss suddenly remembered that in CIS (the department of corporate information systems) Project Manager is required in the DevOps team, and suggested I try.

But it turned out that CIS is a completely different universe. There is a different atmosphere for life, other laws, gravity, molecular bonds. And the difference between R&D and CIS is about the same as in life on Jupiter and Orion.

Nevertheless, the energy of knowing new unknown worlds moved me, and I agreed.
On the very first day in the DevOps team, I got to sprint planning. The meeting lasted about an hour. After him I went out - and panic seized me. I thought: “Well, that’s it, I’ve gone.” I did not understand a single word at the meeting! Completely different technologies, other processes - everything else!

At this difficult moment, I called Vitalik (he was my boss when I was still in R&D, you saw him in the photo above) and told him about my feelings. Vitalik helped me with advice: approach the tasks not from a technical point of view, but from an organizational point of view.

And it worked. After all, technically, I was zero in DevOps, but for a very long time I was developing in R&D. But my plus was the human attitude to work and to colleagues. And it is appreciated always and everywhere. And gradually, something began to turn out, I already benefited the team (which is probably why I was not fired in the first few months :-)).

Do Atlassian support Atlanteans?

But life is changing, and it so happened that they sent an Atlassian stack to our team that there was nobody to do - and they gave it to me. Being engaged in this project, I began to devote more and more to myself to him. And as a result, about a year later, I separated from the DevOps team and took up only Atlassian. Now I am engaged in ensuring the work of Jira and Confluence: configuration, management, planning, integration and so on and so forth.



By the way, I need an assistant to work with Atlassian, so if any of you are in the subject, please send a resume to job@veeam.com .

Searches are good for your health!

In parallel, I was developing in the field of sports: in 2013 I entered and after 5 years graduated from the National State University of Physical Culture, Health and Sports named after P.F. Lesgaft in St. Petersburg.

The decision to get higher education in this area arose due to the fact that I, like all IT specialists, google. The topics of healthy lifestyle, fitness, cubes and other popular and enticing things were interesting to me - as well as many others. But at the same time I wanted to understand everything myself, get to the bottom of the root causes, to the beginnings, to the basics. There was a lot of mixed information on the Internet, often contradicting each other. Having studied “KBZhU”, “3-by-15”, “do not eat after six”, “cardiac fasting”, “it is not beginning to eat” and other hashtags, I realized that there is no way to build a strong house on this foundation. I decided to go for basic knowledge. And for this I did not see a better place than the University of Lesgaft. I know firsthand about all kinds of “Courses of trainers” - the knowledge there, in my opinion, is superficial (although quite sufficient to be a “gym instructor”). So at the age of 33 I went to study at the University, in the field of “Athletism”. I will say right away that the training was in absentia (because I needed to work) and also paid (because it was the second higher education).

He graduated from the University after 5 years - but they flew like 1 year. I got a second profession and now I work as a trainer part-time.


Our student group on the day of graduation. In the 3rd row in the center - P.F. Lesgaft.

“He who wants will succeed!”

Before going to university, I went to the gym like ordinary IT people - to pump up. Of course, the knowledge gained at the university helped me a lot: I figured out the basics, the methods, the theory, and the basic sciences. This developed my interest in increasing my physical abilities, really motivated me to become stronger. And as a result, I decided to embark on the path of an athlete. The key point was the statement of our curator, which he once abandoned in one of the classes: “If you are not at least a CCM in a chosen sport in your 3rd year at a sports university, you should think about whether you are studying there.”

These words generally coincided with my attitude to the matter. I think they can be applied not only to sports - to any business, to work. If you do not achieve success in your business - ask yourself, what do you do?

In general, the words of the curator sunk deep into my soul, and from that moment my preparation began. As a result, in addition to getting a higher education in the field of sports, I managed to pass the standards first to the 1st category, then to the CCM, and then to the masters of sports in powerlifting, as well as masters of sports of international class in deadlift. I remember when I was going to take the discharge, many said: “Where? What for? You are 36! At 25 they finish their sports career, oh well, what are you! ” Etc. Moreover, athletes and even coaches spoke. What now? Now says the book of the master of sports and the icon :)

Learned by yourself - teach others

As I said, now I work part-time as a personal trainer. I conduct training in the gym, in the boxing gym (boxing, Muay Thai, self-defense - entry level). My colleagues come to me too, many go constantly. I'm sure they like it. Also confident in his approach. After all, I do not do this for the sake of material gain, the motive for me is different - to share knowledge, help people, tell, teach. I hope I can do it.

As for physical education and the health of colleagues - in the office we jaundiced a fitness five-minute (more precisely, 15 minute). There is a group in Skype and MS Teams, we are going to the relaxation room, doing a warm-up, stretching, standing on the bar, sharing exercises, setting ourselves challenges. In these classes, I prefer not to claim leadership, but I go like everyone else and do the same exercises that my colleague in the IT shop shows :).


Of course, when they ask me for advice about training, for example, in the kitchen for tea, I don’t give up - often such a "kitchen" conversation about fitness leads a person to the gym for me to train, and he becomes a regular visitor already in the hall.



In our company, many guys are involved in various sports. Running is popular, there is even a Run Lovers Club. Cycling, volleyball, basketball, football and other types. Sometimes we participate in city-wide and all-Russian sports projects.

My sport is individual, I compete personally. There was one event in which I participated as the captain of a corporate team, even did a little preparation and organization - this is the “Race of Heroes”. Unfortunately, I myself could not take part in the race, as I injured my knee in the morning run. But the guys are great, still performed well.

Does Ilya Muromets live in every engineer?

I’ll tell you about myself now, and you decide. My story began in childhood. Back in school, my favorite subjects were mathematics and physical education. My hobbies in mathematics led to my hobby for geometry, astronomy, physics, computer science, and my hobbies for physical culture led me a long way in its various fields.

What united these two, it would seem, completely different directions? Both computer science, mathematics, physics, and anatomy, physiology, biomechanics are exact sciences. That is what attracted me. Science - only she could give intelligible answers to the millions of questions that I have when I just live and watch. The desire to get to the bottom of the axioms, laws, mechanisms is probably one of the important qualities of an engineer, whether he is a software engineer or a quality engineer. This unites us - everyone who is enthusiastically engaged in the IT field, IT specialists. This leads me further in trying to find answers to how our body is structured, how our body works, from external, aesthetic qualities to biochemistry of living organisms and physiology.

In particular, thanks to the study of physiology, I stopped eating meat. (And please don’t tell me “what about squirrels ?!”, otherwise I’ll stop talking to you :) I’m not a vegetarian, I don’t eat only animal meat and poultry meat. I use fish, eggs and dairy products. Science led me to such nutrition - the physiology of digestion.

After switching to this type of nutrition, my strength indicators increased significantly, my mood improved, my illness stopped, I had less time to sleep, my recovery speed after training increased ... and so on. (In general, you can talk on this topic separately to tell why it is advisable to refuse meat.)

Thus, hobbies in one science, one type of activity lead to hobbies in other areas. Remember the science of natural science? This is something similar that happens in my life. Becoming a specialist in one area, the brain projects conclusions, laws, mechanisms, and algorithms onto other areas of life. And the inquiring mind does not give us rest and is constantly looking for answers. Our path continues and cannot be completed with any particular academic degree or with obtaining another sports title or with any other achievement, whether it is a successful or not very completed project or the beginning of something new. And it turns out that in the process of life we ​​implement one of the well-known sayings: “live a century - learn a century” (the fair continuation of which is “you die a fool anyway”). Or, in other words: “the more I know, the more I understand

Sources of Knowledge and Calories

A textbook of physiology, biochemistry, anatomy - this is for starters. In these three pillars there are sections that will interest the reader more or less - and he will already find his way. Although it may be boring to someone ... I can advise something specific individually. This area is very vast, it’s hard to get by with some general advice.

Do I have a specialty dish? - Yes, since childhood I love dough. Like pasta. When I ate meat, my favorite dish was pasta with goulash, with gravy - I could eat a whole bowl! - either pasta navy. Now I am doing something similar with red fish.

About time management

In addition to the work on which you work, many probably also have other hobbies. But 24 hours in a day. And I want more - to be in time. The question is, how does one combine everything? Where to get the time? How to improve time management?

I have it like this: do it once, do two, do three :) That's the whole “time management”. Everything else in the popular books about "time management" is most often about "how to force yourself to do" one way or another, proceed to one or the other. My answer is simple - no way! Do not want to - do not. If you want, do it. No need to invent and deceive yourself. Stop and think whether you want it or not. If you want, go ahead! As they say, a person who wants is looking for opportunities, and a person who does not want is looking for excuses. (Here I would add "and read books on time management.")

For example, now 23:50. And I'm sitting writing this article. My day began at 8 in the morning. And tomorrow I have 2 workouts in the morning, one at 8, the second at 9, then work and training on the ServiceNow service platform until 8 p.m. After him - again work, since nobody will do it except me. And you also need to schedule 2 workouts for two other clients who will be engaged on their own tomorrow, since I will not be able to come because of the training. So I have no time to read books on "time management" and think about how I can replace lunch and breakfast and get to work.


This is what my typical work day looks like.

I note that being carried away by something else (besides what he is busy at work), it turns out to achieve greater success in both areas. This ability to “switch” from one type of activity to another has a beneficial effect on a person. It is not in vain that they say that rest is a change of activity. Of course, sometimes fatigue accumulates and you just want to stay in complete silence and loneliness, not thinking about anything, not making decisions and doing nothing, a kind of “seal” regime. But then the inquiring mind again gives you no peace and leads you somewhere again.

About sports goals and future plans

Now I am studying what is called the "river of recreation." Recreation, restoration of movements, mechano-regulatory system, post-tonic reactions, reflexes, kinesiology - this is the next level. You know, it’s interesting to learn from a person about his illnesses not from his lips, but simply by pressing the “buttons” on the body. The body itself says that it is so and what is wrong. Where are the violations and what needs to be repaired - despite the fact that the head attached to this body can say anything ... It’s amazing, for example, when a person doesn’t have a normal motor reaction to arousal, and when I do it with one exercise, but with a target, I restore this reaction - you would see the face of a man! It is usually such a surprised-smiling face, with joy in the eyes, joy for the fact that it "no longer hurts" and "works"! This is really exciting.
It’s also interesting, of course, to prepare an athlete from scratch. Unfortunately, there is no such athlete who I would prepare and who would win the competition. There are people who, as a result of training, became stronger, slimmer, lost fat, etc. But there are few people who want to prepare specifically for sporting events. Indeed, in order to win a medal, you need to "plow", and we, as a rule, are too lazy.) Well, usually people go to a fitness club with other motives. And some generally choose to drink beer with friends instead of training ... But this is the topic of a separate conversation on the topic "motivation in sports."

In addition, I recently became a judge. So far, only regional - this is the first level. But this opens up further horizons - it is also possible to develop in this area and reach international levels.