Ed is one of the few male members in the Connected Women team. He loves contributing to various causes with his passion for coding. He shares his tips and life advice for those who want to enter and excel in the development field. Meet our software developer.

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Titled “Meet the Connected Women Team,” this series gives the readers a peek into what goes on in the days of the people behind Connected Women. From the everyday to inspirational, the series aims to highlight the team and their various backgrounds and talents, and share a bit of the diversity we experience every day. 

Edeeson Opina or simply Ed, is the tech-savvy, sometimes quiet, software developer of Connected Women. His main objective in life is to help especially those who are in need by finding a solution using his knowledge in technology then applying it to solve the problem. With the different problems he encountered, he is also learning, and keeps improving every time he encounters the same problem again.

Ed is also a volunteer in many communities. He entered the development field at 18 years old, and has used his problems in real life development to help solve problems in the field. During his free time, he participates in hackathons (a design sprint-like event where programmers and others involved in software development collaborate intensively on projects). He gives free consultation and even teaches for free. Ed also volunteers by helping disabled people create a website to raise funds for their community.

He enjoys giving everything that he has to serve others. He believes that helping others will also inspire them to help those who are in need. For Ed, his three main values are creativity, passion, and love for his work.

Below is how a day goes for this developer:

6 AM: Wake up. Usually I wake up at 5am but just take another one hour nap to have enough rest for today’s to do list.

6 AM-8 AM: Once my morning routine is done after getting out of bed, I browse the internet for new techniques that could help me on solving some problems.

8 AM-9 AM: Once the clock hits 8 AM, I always do a warm up coding for one hour. Usually I start warming up by creating some basic modules then go to a challenging variety as time passes by, just to get my rhythm in programming.

9 AM-10 AM: I immediately check myself in our workplace, Connected Women. Then I start to review the progress of my assigned project. After I review everything, I research on some things that might be a great help to the project.

10 AM-12 NN: I have a great team here. We are always open to each other. We greet each other “Good morning,” upon checking in. Then I discuss things with the team and plan out carefully what we should do before we start coding.

12 NN–1 PM: This is my usual eating time but sometimes it changes depending on the situation of the project. Even while eating I am still thinking of how to solve a problem so that when I start coding again I can address the problem immediately.

1 PM-6 PM: Here is where the real battle begins. I code with no break after lunch, making sure that I solve as many problems as possible. This is the normal life of a developer—you program like there’s no tomorrow as if your fingers are dancing on your keyboard. When I encounter some things that are quite hard to solve, there is always Google to help me on the development. It’s quite exciting to experience some problems that you haven’t experienced yet because it will serve as a new lesson in your life. If everything is done I immediately pass it to the team for them to test it.

6 PM-11 PM: Work time is done. But programming does not stop there. I still research new technologies and techniques that I know that will be a great help to my projects. I only stop coding when my mind is overloaded.

11 PM-12 MN: This is my free time and all I do is just browse videos online and always try to find funny videos to help me forget programming for a bit. This is also the time that I respond to some events that others are offering me.

The Pros And Cons Of Working Remotely

”Working remotely has allowed me to use my time productively,” shares Ed. “Avoiding the three hours of travel doing nothing is a big thing for me. I hate doing nothing especially when I know that I still have this deadline but I’m stuck sitting and can’t do anything much because of the heavy traffic in Manila. I also avoid the daily expenses of commuting. Now that’s a big plus!”

For Ed, the cons of working remotely may include losing his “gala”  life, or his social life when he would go out. “I tend to just be at home and be with the ones I love than go out and chill,” he says. “But instead of that, I have been saving and also giving time for my loved ones.”

Embrace Failure

“I admit I have done a lot of things that I regret doing which resulted to many failures,” explains Ed. “But somehow I’m also thankful that I’ve experienced those failures. Until now, I always think that ’Will I be what I am now if this did not happen to me?’ Those struggles in life have shaped me to become stronger and be better in what I do.”

Ed’s tip for fellow developers: “If you encounter failures and hit rock bottom, get up. You can do this. If you fall, do not be discouraged to get back on your feet even for the nth time. It maybe a long and painful process but what matters the most is that you are learning from it. Once you reach beyond your limit, you will notice that you are already in top shape and you’ve come a long way. That’s the gift of failure. You learn so many things when before, you thought you couldn’t solve your problems.”

Always Upgrade Yourself

“Upgrading” one’s self doesn’t always just apply to technology; it can also apply to one’s self. “Programming is a tough job you always need to be updated in the latest technologies so you tend to throw some things that you know already to give way for a new technique to learn,” says Ed. “So we start to study again. Understanding technology is limitless. Sometimes the best teacher for learning is no other than our selves. We must not give up growing, learning, and being open to new things. It maybe difficult at first but you’ll get used to it. Once you got the rhythm you’ve earned yourself your reward for not giving up!”