Freedom at work

Rabea Gransberger: Yes! I have the same feelings about other software development positions, as well, because in my current position, I can just do what I like and also decide on the future for my team.

With many other positions out there at well-known companies, which regularly sponsor conferences, there will always be a booth at a conference and those people will have to do some booth duty. I wouldn't want to do that. If I took that kind of job, the company would send me to conferences and I wouldn't have the freedom to decide to go to a conference. It's actually my decision now.

When I talk to other developers at a conference, many of them say that they were sent there and they don't really enjoy what they're doing. They could be developer advocates or just developers who go to conferences and have to do some booth duty.

Geertjan Wielenga: Are there any other reasons for avoiding "advocacy" work?

Rabea Gransberger: Yes, I also enjoy working with customers, by which I mean not only software developers as customers but people outside of IT. I enjoy translating what they are saying into development tasks and trying to optimize their processes, and also learning about their domain.

Customers call us and ask, "How can we solve this topic with your software product?" Sometimes, it's a very domain-specific question. It's mainly asking, "How can I optimize this process that is part of my daily work?"

In my job, I'm in a position where I have learned enough about the role that the customer is working in that I can actually help them. That is what I enjoy the most. I wouldn't like it if people took away that freedom from me. I want to make my own choice about what I'm doing.

For example, today is a home office day, which I enjoy. I can usually choose whether I want to work from home or from the office. I normally go to the office because I just like to see my coworkers.

Geertjan Wielenga: Since you don't work for a company that sends you somewhere, does your company pay you to go to these places?

Rabea Gransberger: Yes, now my company does pay parts of my travel. In the beginning, I was taking vacation to go to conferences. I paid for the flights, I paid for the conferences, and I paid for the hotels. I paid for everything.

Geertjan Wielenga: Why? What motivated you in this scene in the first place?

Rabea Gransberger: It probably was about reaching a goal because I need goals in my life. I get all my motivation from having a goal that I can actually reach.

Geertjan Wielenga: What was the goal?

Rabea Gransberger: My goal was becoming a Java Champion, which I became last year. I'm always calling Java Champions "Java Marketing Champions." Many people think that a Java Champion is a very good Java developer, but it's not about being a good Java developer. It's about developer advocates who are going out there and advocating for Java as a great language, and selling Java without getting paid for it.

I wasn't too interested in becoming a Java Champion in that way, but still, it sounded appealing.

I wanted to become a well-known speaker and to be invited to conferences in the first place. Last year, I was very happy when people started to invite me to conferences, pay for my travel, or pay for hotels, because it was a recognition of the hours and hours that I put into preparing my talks.

Geertjan Wielenga: Do you mean that even without sending in an abstract, these conferences contacted you and asked, "Do you want to come and speak?"

Rabea Gransberger: Yes! I think it's easier for me, though, because I'm a woman and people are always looking for women speakers at conferences. If you're not really bad at giving talks as a woman, then I think you're invited to conferences at some point. You have to fail a lot before you're not invited back to a conference.

I'm actually constantly trying to improve my talks. People have very different opinions about what a good talk at a conference should look like. Many people are now saying that a talk should be without slides and mainly free, with just notes.

Two years ago, I was sitting at a conference thinking, "Okay, what are the reasons that I like a talk myself? Is it because it's given freely or are there some other factors?" I decided that it just has to be a well-delivered talk. People can give a talk with slides. Some people just hold onto the desk and don't walk around on stage. I found that these aspects don't really matter to me.

Geertjan Wielenga: What is a well-delivered talk to you? What does that mean?