Shanmukha Prasad Bokka, senior software engineer at Fidelity Investments, tells us why he chose Ireland as a place to live and work, and how his eating habits are starting to change.
Where are you from?
I am from a small farming village named Antarvedi Palem located in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh state in India. My village, along with many other villages and towns, is called Konaseema.
This is a beautiful place with lots of green scenery and is surrounded by water. On one side there is the Bay of Bengal and the other sides Godavari (Gautami and Vashista).
How long have you been in Ireland?
I arrived in Ireland in February 2014.
Why did you move here?
Fidelity offered me an opportunity to relocate here, so I visited last year to see the country and learn more about Dublin. I really liked the place and the people.
While I was here I took lots of pictures and videos to bring back to share with my family for them to get a sense of what Ireland was like. Now if you ask my son about going back, he says no! He likes the environment so much that he doesn’t want to go back.
What work do you do?
I am a Java developer and manage installations and upgrades of products. I work on customisation and configuring of product code to fit with Fidelity’s requirements.
How would you describe your working environment?
Fidelity Investments is one of the best places to work. I like the way employees are respected. Everyone is very approachable and helpful. It also provides a flexible work environment and has great benefits. It takes care of employee’s career growth and makes training accessible.
The work-life balance is also great and is just one benefit that makes me want to stay with Fidelity after almost nine years.
What do you like most about your job?
The opportunity to work on different technologies related to Java.
Was it difficult to adjust to living and working in Ireland?
It was a little difficult for us to adjust here initially, mostly for my family as they were experiencing this for the first time. We had to adjust to a very different climate. The length of day and night was also an adjustment. In Ireland, during the summer months, it is daylight for much longer.
When we asked our kids to go to bed during the summer months they would say it is not nighttime yet and want to continue playing. The food we eat is entirely different. There are many Asian stores available in Dublin, which is great and very convenient. We are slowly changing our food habits though.
What surprised you about moving to Ireland?
I had heard from many sources that it rains a lot in Ireland, but as of now I haven’t experienced much rainfall, which is great!
How does your working life help to make you feel at home here?
People at Fidelity are great. Work-life balance is important and we have flexible working options, including working from home if needed.
What do you like most about your adopted home?
I feel Dublin is one of the greatest cities. Overall it has good transport links to major places and I am really enjoying my time here.
