"The more you practice, the better you will be"

A Story of Firman Mardiyanto, Bangkit 2022 Graduate from Information Technology, Politeknik TEDC Bandung

“In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.”

― Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success

Resonating the above quote by Gladwell, relentless practices will lead us to true expertise. It is also a belief firmly held by Firman Mardiyanto (25), who aspired to be a reliable tech talent and devoted his time to educating himself with relevant skills.

His bustle in attending complete courses on campus and carrying out his duty as a full-time employee didn’t hinder him from thriving in Bangkit. That was because Firman believes that the more he does something he is passionate about, the better he becomes at it.

Once a Factory Worker

Born and raised in Ngamprah, a part of Bandung Barat Regency, Firman is the second of three children. His father works as a farmer, and his mother is a housewife. Firman’s encouraging parents wish nothing but to see their second-born grows as a kindhearted human being. They always support Firman’s passion, including his enthusiasm for technology.

Getting used to tinkering with tech devices made Firman attend SMK 4 LPPM RI, a vocational school in Padalarang, Bandung Barat Regency, majoring in Computer Network Engineering. After getting a lot of insights about computer engineering and graduating from this school, Firman planned to go to university. However, his family's economic situation prompted him to work and save money for education expenses in the future.

Therefore, after obtaining his vocational school certificate, Firman worked as a Quality Control Inspector at a manufacturing company that produces international standard fabrics called PT Ateja. After ensuring the fabrics' quality at the company, Firman became a Colorist responsible for assuring the colors of the materials met the standard.

After collecting money for almost three years, Firman’s savings were finally accumulated. He then decided to carry on living his IT dream by going to a polytechnic named Politeknik TEDC Bandung and choosing an IT major.

Joined Bangkit to be a Distinguished Tech Talent

Firman believes in the words, “Practice makes perfect” and “The more we do something, the better we become at it.” Hence, as his time in college began, he was drawn to his learning activity outside of the classroom to make himself relevant to the industry demand. Dicoding was the online learning platform where Firman equipped himself with tech insights related to Front-End Development.

Actively participating in many of Dicoding’s scholarship programs made Firman meet Bangkit. He saw that this program was an ample opportunity for him to enhance his tech skill and expand his professional network. As a result, seeing Bangkit is initiated by Google and supported by GoTo and Traveloka, Firman was excited to register and choose Mobile Development (Android) path.

“Bangkit shaped me into a distinguished tech talent by giving me a comprehensive Android Development learning experience. This program also prepared me to be a globally competitive talent through its soft skills classes and English training.”

Nevertheless, learning in Bangkit wasn’t without challenges for Firman. He was pushed to manage his time well. While participating in this program, Firman had to attend the full courses on campus and work as a Full-Stack Web Developer in an IT consulting firm.

Satisfying Results Worth Fighting For

Remarkable efforts will always bear remarkable results. Firman’s persistence in giving his best in Bangkit while attending lectures and working full-time generated exceptional outcomes. He didn’t only manage to graduate from Bangkit but also successfully earned Associate Android Developer certification.

Firman admitted that he acquired many from this program, from the ability to manage his time well to an opportunity to be the expert he always wished for.

“Taking part as a cohort in Bangkit made me obtain many from this program. First, I have a supportive learning environment through the presence of my mentor and fellow cohorts. Then, I’m used to managing my time well. Last but not least, I earned the Associate Android Developer certification.”

The satisfying results that Firman yielded weren’t just them. He also had an opportunity to enrich his working experience by applying for the Front-End Developer position at Assemblr, a company engaged in Augmented Reality (AR). Apparently, Firman’s learning experience in Bangkit helped him be hired by this company.

Bangkit’s Learning Contributes to Firman’s Success in Carrying Out His Tech Role

As a Full-Time Front-End Developer, Firman is tasked with building a website according to the given design plan, analyzing system requirements and user experience, and ensuring the implementation of system security practices. Although his work focuses on web development, especially ReactJS, learning in Bangkit helped him strengthen the fundamental of programming.

Bangkit also honed Firman’s soft skills, particularly in facing an interview, so he was more than just ready to take on the recruitment process at Assemblr. Firman also implemented lots of best practices he got from Bangkit in bearing his responsibilities at the company.

“Never waste the opportunity to thrive in Bangkit, especially if you have the privilege to convert your whole semester credits (SKS). Focus on your mission to be a reliable tech talent by enforcing discipline. Always believe that the more you do something you’re passionate about, the better you become at it.”

From what he said above, Firman wants to emphasize to the Bangkit Cohorts that the efforts never betray the results.

More stories about Bangkit Alum and Cohort:

1. Teddy Latief Miftahur Rizqi - Limitation is a Myth: A Journey to Achieve the Dream as a Back-End Engineer
2. Perseverance is the Key to Pursue My IT Dream - Rafi Aditya Seno Aji
3. Knowledge is the Greatest Investment for Your Future - Achmad Fandi Santoso