Programming, Consulting, and Learning Japanese: A Typical Day at IBM!

Recently, we had the pleasure of interviewing Bryan — a bright and charismatic IBMer accomplishing some great things he never imagined he’d do in his career.

Read on to learn about his amazing story.

Bryan, who currently lives in the Philippines, started working at the IBM Consulting Client Innovation Center (one of our ‘Global Delivery Centers’) as an Advanced Programming Specialist in 2016, coming straight from University.

Bryan recalls, “IBM had a recruiting booth at our University. I gave them my CV, and shortly after, I received a call for an interview. After I was hired, I went through the training program, with a focus on software testing and automation. Thankfully, I passed!”

Wondering what the IBM Delivery Centers are all about? Here are some quick facts to know:

• They exist across 170 countries globally with more than 20% of new hires coming straight from Universities.
• Over 75+ languages are spoken in our center, which ensures we can service clients effectively (IBMers in our Philippines delivery center can speak more than 15 languages!)
• Our Philippines delivery center (where Bryan works) employs professionals with capabilities in SAP S/4 HANA, experience in talent and transformation (e.g., SuccessFactors, Workday), as well as automation and digital transformation skills.

Bryan says his overall experience was exciting, fresh, and completely different from the expectations he first had about working in one of IBM’s delivery centers. As soon as he joined our Philippines center, he could deep dive into various testing projects for IBM clients. From there, he upgraded his automation testing skills, worked with SAP Basis, and even started to learn web development.

And it gets even better from there!

Learning Japanese on the Job

Imagine, for a moment, that you start your job straight from college after finishing your tech focused degree, and after a few weeks, someone approaches you and asks, “would you like to learn Japanese?” What would your answer be?

For Bryan, he jumped at the opportunity to learn Japanese, and was assigned an external teacher to help him. However, he quickly realized how difficult this would be, and admittedly felt overwhelmed at the beginning.

Bryan explained, “I consumed a lot of Japanese media before, but I didn’t think of trying to learn the language. So, I said yes to the opportunity and went through the training, which turned out to be very challenging. Learning a new language is completely different than learning a new technical skill.”

As he progressed in his learning of the Japanese language (all while still performing his day-to-day job at his Consulting Client Innovation Center,) Bryan made a point in sharing his continued excitement with his experience — it was obvious this was something that really had a positive impact on him.

Bryan said, “I felt like a pioneer. There were only a small number of people at the delivery center in the Philippines that supported Japanese clients at the time, and I really wanted to be part of that. I completed the official certification through the government of Japan, took new tests every year, and today, I am at the second highest level! It took me two years of active learning to reach this milestone, and I’m so happy I took the leap!”

Bryan also reminisced about how he took language notes during client calls and how amazing the experience was to interact with native Japanese speakers from the start.

An Unforgettable Career Experience

We asked Bryan a few more questions about his experience and the culture within the Philippines delivery center.

When asked whether he felt his leadership team supported him throughout his career, his answer was very enthusiastic. “I can’t say enough about how much I love and respect my managers. They’ve always supported what I wanted to pursue in my career, and they helped me grow year after year thanks to their thoughtful feedback and career advice.”

Bryan expanded from there and continued his enthusiasm about his experience. “The best part has been the IBMers who surround me – they make me feel needed and valued. I’ve never met such an amazing group of people. Yes, they are hard workers, but they don’t shy away from having fun as well. We have a lot of laughs together—inside and outside of work.”

Bryan is a great example of how you can grow and achieve anything you want when starting your career in an IBM Delivery Center. It sounds a bit like a cliché, but clichés usually hold a modicum of truth. And after speaking with Bryan, we can confirm his experience is no cliché. After speaking with him in length, we can confidently say that this was the best, and most fulfilling, experience he’s had in his career so far.

If you’re interested in the work Bryan does or want to learn more about our career opportunities in IBM Consulting, please visit our careers website.

If you don’t see any open roles that align with your skills and interests, consider joining our Consulting Talent Network to receive updates on career opportunities that match your interests and skills.