Can you imagine sipping a yummy cold Thai mango-shake while sitting in a Finnish sauna, sweating and boosting your blood circulation? No? Maybe our freelancer of the week Jani Tarkiainen can. The 25 year old Finn specialized in Android development and currently lives and works in Thailand. Let´s hear more about his life and resume. And maybe he will reveal whether there are any saunas in Thailand at all…
1) First off, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello, my name is Jani Tarkiainen. I´m a 25 year old Android developer. I studied software engineering at a Finnish university called Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences. After 2 years of studying I went abroad to Bangkok, Thailand for exchanges studies. After the exchange studies and some abroad work experience on Android development I went back to Finland to finish my bachelors degree in software engineering and now I´m back in Thailand. I have been running my own one man Finnish Software Company by freelancing and I have been building my own apps for the last nine months (since July 2014) here from sunny Thailand.
2) If you would search for your profile on Google, which are the three keywords you would type in the search bar?
Android developer, problem solving, passion for programming
3) What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide to become a freelancer?
During my studies and some hobby Android development projects it became clear to me that I want to be working in Android development, so I decided to build an Android app as my bachelor´s degree´s final project. After the final project was done, I still wanted to continue working on my own apps and at the same time earn my living. So the decision was easy. I established my own one man company which I use for freelancing on Android projects and creating my own apps. I´m about to finish my current project and I´ll be ready for full-time or part-time contracts.
4) What kind of services have your clients asked you to provide?
I have been working on all aspects related to Android development. Writing specifications, development, maintenance, publishing the app, giving advices to clients on best practices and also brainstorming new ideas for a client´s app.
5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to provide skills that you don’t possess?
Sure I do. It´s smart to build a team/network that can overcome even the hardest tasks. After all, it will ease my work life if I can concentrate on things I´m best at and also the client gets the best possible solution. If other skills are needed, I can recommend my contacts to the client for specific tasks or handle the project management in the middle, depending on the will of client and my freelance contacts.
I have teamed up with one SEO company, some freelance designers and also one mid-size software development company.
6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that are interested in your services?
At first, I got freelance projects from my old employer. Now I have my own website with my portfolio and I started writing an Android development blog, hoping to get some new clients from there. Also huge thanks to my friend Antti Sundberg at seoseon.com for his help in online marketing and especially SEO towards markets in Nordic countries.
7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with our IT-network?
I´m new to freelancermap but the website looks very promising. The project quality on freelancermap seems to be better than what I´ve seen on other freelancing networks. Clients are having better descriptions what skills they are looking for and they are also willing to pay a good price for the suitable talents.
8) How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? What makes you special?
I am easy to communicate with. I spend time to understand the client´s needs and always trying to offer better solution if there is one available. Also I´m fully focused on Android platforms so I have very deep understanding of Android SDK and the common libraries for Android development.
9) What are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read to stay up to date in the IT-market?
Mostly I use flipboard and social sites for scrolling news and if I want information of some specific topic I´ll just google. The interesting news I tend to save to pocket app so I can check those later from my phone or desktop.
10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our readers?
Programming like anything else is all about passion and hard work. People are not born as great programmers, but with passion and hard work a person can become one.
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Where to find Jani Tarkiainen?
- freelancer profile: Jani Tarkiainen at freelancermap.com
- Link to website: http://jmitesolutions.com
- Skype: jani.tarkiainen
The interview was conducted by Doreen Schollmeier – freelancermap.com team.
Pic: © Jani Tarkiainen
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