From Istanbul to Wrocław: A Journey of Growth, Grit, and Java Logs
In July 2015, I packed my bags and left Istanbul for a new chapter in Wrocław, Poland, to join Credit Suisse. It was a hot summer. I couldn’t afford a direct flight, so I flew to Berlin and took a bus to Wrocław. I was excited—and nervous. It was my first time living outside of Turkiye, and I was about to work for a bank I had never heard of before.
I had spent over a decade in Istanbul—from university days in 1996 to working in tech roles from 2004 to 2015. So many memories, so many projects, and so much learning.
👋 First Day Jitters #
Starting a new job at 35 in a new country wasn’t easy. My manager, Xenon, had arranged for Jerzy to meet me at reception. I still remember that first call on internal Skype—Xenon told me I’d be working with Tarik and Frank in Zurich. Tarik was my team lead, and I could ask him anything.
A couple of months later, Tarik left for military service, and I found myself handling Java and WebLogic issues solo in JAP. These weren’t your average bugs—these were the “creme de la creme” of problems. If no one else could solve it, it landed on our desk.
We’d often build reproducers—small Java projects to replicate the issue—and open SRs with Oracle. It was challenging, but incredibly rewarding.
🏙️ Life in Poland #
After 1.5 years in Wrocław, I moved to Warsaw for a permanent position. From 2017 to 2020, I lived just a short walk from the office. I continued solving deep Java issues until I discovered something new: CI/CD.
🚀 Enter Odyssey #
In 2019, I joined the Odyssey team—a CI/CD platform with over 7 Spring Boot applications (a surprise after years of WebLogic!). Everything ran on Linux, backed by PostgreSQL. Our main app was a project management tool that integrated with Active Directory, Jira, Bitbucket, Confluence, and JFrog Artifactory.
When a project manager added a user, the system had to:
- Query AD for user info
- Add the user to the project
- Sync with all backend systems
It was REST-heavy, but not overly complex. We also handled support, and our documentation was so detailed that today, it could probably power an LLM.
🧭 Becoming the SME #
After 6–8 months, I became the Subject Matter Expert for Atlas, a tool for managing non-code projects using Jira and Confluence. I worked there until April 2020, implementing features and managing releases.
💬 Looking Back #
Working at Credit Suisse in Poland was a great experience. I met brilliant people, tackled tough problems, and grew both personally and professionally. Now that CS has been acquired by UBS and closed in many locations, I look back with gratitude.
To anyone starting a new chapter—especially in a new country—know that the journey might be tough, but it’s worth it. 🌟
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