It all began with Final Fantasy – AWS was no match for this Full Stack Developer

When a client in the retail sector was searching for a full stack developer with solid AWS credentials, Miia Vallasvuo had her doubts – she hadn't yet gained hands-on experience with Amazon's cloud platform. However, Vallasvuo, who works at Nitor on both front-end and back-end development, left a lasting impression on the client with her top-notch consulting attitude.  

"I was completely honest with the client and told them I hadn't worked on AWS projects before, but I'm always keen to learn new technologies. At the time, several other Nitorean consultants were being interviewed, so I made sure to mention that we do also have existing expertise in-house," says Vallasvuo, who still works in the same team.  

Soon, she found herself on a significant learning path. In the end, the most crucial lesson had very little to do with AWS itself.  

"Technologies are meant to be learned, as they are just tools that come and go. My biggest takeaway was admitting not knowing everything – and all the good things that followed from that," she reveals. 

Taking the AWS infrastructure by the horns 

When she started with a new client, Vallasvuo found herself in the deep end. She worked on a team that built interfaces to deliver personalised content to end users of their mobile app and website. The system migration from the previous team landed on Vallasvuo's desk, just as she was rapidly getting to grips with AWS.  

"It was a steep learning curve, as a large part of my work involved setting up AWS infrastructure so we could migrate all the databases and everything else we needed. I was eager to get up to speed and show what I could do, so I worked my way through countless tutorials," she explains.  

Especially at first, it was easy for Vallasvuo to question her own abilities. She was constantly looking for faults in her work, even though many issues were resolved by fixing flaws in the original infrastructure. The client's open culture and atmosphere of shared learning created a safe environment for growth.  

"It was great to be able to openly talk about the things I didn't yet know. It's wonderful that the client's work culture encourages this. And I found a close teammate with whom I could discuss obstacles and questions that might have seemed silly. I learned a lot from working together, and I'm glad I can now offer advice to younger colleagues myself," she sums up.  

Currently, Vallasvuo's work is heavily focused on API development, particularly REST interface and AWS Lambda and API Gateway solutions. Her daily tasks also include ensuring her own infrastructure runs smoothly and maintaining deployment pipelines.  

"Recently, I've had the chance to work on the front end again with React components, which has brought a refreshing change to my work. At first, our team had very clear areas of responsibility: one person oversaw the front end, while another managed the APIs. But I was curious and got myself involved in a bit of everything, so eventually the whole team started working on everything together," the Digital Engineer laughs. 

The Full Stack Developer’s journey began from a love for frontend  

The passion for frontend development was already brewing in the 1990s, when the young hobbyist coder built a fan site for the video game Final Fantasy using HTML. After graduating with a degree in digital media, Vallasvuo worked as a frontend developer with Aste Helsinki for a long while until it was time for a new challenge.   

"I really started expanding my growing backend skills mainly due to circumstances. When I joined Nitor four years ago, it was clear that a developer needed to be able to work in both environments. And how have the tables turned, as I truly love working on the back end as well," Vallasvuo recalls with a smile.  

Vallasvuo, who learns best by doing, enjoys her broad skill set and the fact that there's always something new to learn in her work. Today, developers are expected to master such a wide range of skills that no one can keep up with everything. A good full stack developer knows how to focus on essential things and recognises the areas where expanding their expertise is needed.  

"It's also important to know when to ask others for help. One person can't know everything, although it's easy to believe otherwise. Impostor syndrome is very common in this industry, and people don't usually talk about what they don't yet know. Normalising that we all have our knowledge gaps would help everyone," Vallasvuo points out. 

In addition to client work, Vallasvuo likes to build her skills through various hands-on projects, making use of Nitor Core time. She also values the vast collective knowledge and expertise of her colleagues, who are always willing to share it with others.  

"Once you get past your own imposter syndrome and dare to ask for help, you'll find an answer to any question. It's great to be able to bounce ideas around together – support is always available. I've been lucky to experience this with both the client and my fellow Nitoreans," Vallasvuo reflects. 

The article series highlights the experiences of Nitoreans in continuous learning as part of their daily customer work. At Nitor, professional growth builds on training, collaborative learning, mentoring, Nitor Core time, and interesting customer projects. This article series stems from a desire to show appreciation for learning while working, the fundamental pillar of everyday professional development.