Stefano Scarpanti – Senior Software Engineer

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“Think Different! Think for yourself!” This is the philosophy of Stefano Scarpanti, Senior Software Engineer and freelance newcomer from Italy. Upon working for several companies within a regular employment for years, Stefano Scarpanti always felt like something was missing in his life. But just some months ago, he found an answer. When searching for a new job in the internet, he ended up at our IT-job board freelancermap.com and decided: Maybe it’s the “freedom” that lacks in my life? An interview with Stefano Scarpanti…1) First off, can you tell us bit about yourself? 

Well, I finished my electronic engineering courses at University in 1997, but I worked already in industry as CAD designer since 1995 in a company with wide foreign affairs, in my parents’ town. I joined Artificial Intelligence Italian Association already in 1994, and participated to many congresses of its, also in USA. Unfortunately, the first jobs made drove me away from AI concepts and applications. In 1999, I submitted my CV to Cisco Systems, but when in California in front of the Cisco Dept manager asking me about my future in Cisco, I decided to stop and go back to Italy. To be honest, I love my country. I have been working so far in Italy as OOP developer (Object Oriented Programming), using C++, Java, python, still with the ambition to be part of wide international projects, and with a piece of my heart hoping to meet again AI area, and the other piece in the hands of my daughter, born recently.

2) If you would search for your profile on Google, which are the three keywords you would type in the search bar?

The three keys should be: OOP, scalability, intelligent. The first two ones are quite common concepts in the web world, because the web has a multitude of concurrent information, objects, tasks and goals, continuously created and updated. Intelligence, either natural or artificial, is the white whale of the never-ending human quest. That’s why, probably, a new word instead of it is widespread nowadays, may be easier but similar, that is “smart”. All is smart now on the web.

3) What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide to become a freelancer?

I have been working so far for several companies in a traditional way, but still with an unexpressed inspiration that something was to be changed in my job (and in my life). Only recently, searching in the web for new jobs, I met freelancermap.com through a link chain, and suddenly I understood. May be it was the word “free” to impress my mind.

4) What kind of services have your clients asked you to provide?

I have developed software for many years, both small and big or huge applications. Huge apps are those that have had long development life and use; the small ones are those that become huge in a bit. The key is the inner organization. Control & testability are the keys. They are asked by my clients.

5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to provide skills that you don’t possess?

Recently I have made important experience in team work; before I work by myself on projects. Team approach is always an issue, because when project grows up, many skills are needed.

6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that are interested in your services?

Traditional professional ways are still important to find clients and projects, such as friends in other companies, good relationships in old projects, and so on. But I strongly believe that the web, through its new “sociality” and new “places”, is much underestimated. It is an important source of needs and requests; and above all a source of new world visions and perceptions of reality.

7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with our IT-network?

I entered freelancermap only recently, but it has been quite impressive. It is quite easy and straightforward to search cooperations and projects. I am sure that many tools or sections are still unknown to me, but step by step I will familiarize with all. Freelancermap is a “place” where people from the very far part of the world can briefly meet and keep in touch finding out chances of cooperation on IT projects, without loss of time.

8) How do you set yourself apart from your competitors?

What makes you special? Self marketing is a difficult category. I am sure to have strong skills and expertise in software development, modularity, scalability, deployments, all parts of a successful application. But that is the past. The present is my inspiration, a new energy by which to face the web and its challenges, a new energy to give back to the web.

9) What are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read to stay up to date in the IT-market?

Just to give some hints. I want to refer to an old book, I think still important. I bought it at San Francisco in 1999, and now it is free on the web (http://msdl.cs.mcgill.ca/people/tfeng/docs/The%20Unified%20Modeling%20Language%20Reference%20Manual.pdf). I think it is the very manual of elegant and effective OOP. About smart, when IT meets common life we find smart cities (http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/about-smart-cities). Many projects will arise from digital cities, and so needs for a better environment. For strictly IT-news there is of course http://www.itnews.com/ , but IT news are coming from so many other sources! Also very popular and generic news bulletins give interesting IT news and scoops.

10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our readers?

Well, let’s start from a famous statement, said by a person who has changed our world: “think different”. Now think about that IT is now everywhere, in everything, in every moment of our life. IT has profoundly permeated all our existence. To be part of this IT-world so moving and changing rapidly it is not really important to “think” about it, but to feel it. Follow your inspiration, follow your instinct. So what matters it is not exactly to think different, but to think by yourself; and it does not matter (don’t worry) if that will be different from others.

Where to find Stefano Scarpanti? 
freelancer profile: Stefano Scaroanti at freelancermap.com
Skype: stefano.scarpanti

The interview was conducted by Doreen Schollmeier, freelancermap.com team.

Pic: © Stefano Scarpanti

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Doreen Schollmeier

Doreen Schollmeier is dealing with the international freelancing and outsourcing market for more than 5 years and knows both sides of the coin. After working as a project manager for an India based company until 2012, supporting the company to find clients worldwide, she nowadays helps freelancers to find jobs and clients.

By Doreen Schollmeier

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