ICT story: how an Uzbek guy ended up in Uber

IT Park launched a new special edition ICT story, where we share the success stories of Uzbek IT professionals working abroad.

The next guest of ICT story is 25-year-old Darkhonbek Mamataliev. He graduated from Inha University in Tashkent. While studying at school, college and university, he participated in olympiads in computer science and programming. Also participated in IT competitions.

He now lives in the US and works as an iOS developer at Uber.

How did you end up abroad?

Darkhonbek moved to the US in 2019.

“I won the Green Card lottery and started applying for US companies. And after I got a job in the IT industry, I moved to the US.”

As Darkhonbek tells, he had two goals for moving: 1 - financial; 2 - increasing technical knowledge as a programmer.

“The United States, specifically Silicon Valley, is the hub of all technology companies. More than half of the largest technology companies from around the world are located there. There is a high concentration of smart and talented people from whom you can learn a lot. As an IT professional, it's important to have a great mentor from whom you can learn a lot. And it’s also important to have big products to work on, because unless you're facing major, complex technical problems, you won't learn how to solve them."

As Darkhonbek recalls, there were no problems with relocation and employment, since the Green Card gives permission to work. But some difficulties arose after the arrival.

“When I moved to the USA, I spent almost all the last money on a ticket and on housing. I had $500 left in my pocket. With this amount, I began my life and work in the United States, and I really hoped that I would soon receive a salary, because I had no other money.”

In addition, there are other difficulties, among which Darkonbek notes the absence of relatives nearby.

“Many say: you need to go abroad, everything is fine, easy, beautiful there. In fact, there are many difficulties. When you move to a new country, all of your life counters are reset. You have no friends, no acquaintances, no family, no name, no reputation, no authority, no connections. We need to build a new circle of friends and acquaintances, as well as adapt to a new culture.”

Why USA?

Now Darkhonbek is engaged in the mobile development at Uber Eats, an application that works in the field of food delivery from restaurants and groceries from stores in many countries around the world. This is the largest food and grocery delivery company in the world.

When he was asked why he chose the United States, he told that from a financial aspect, America has the highest salaries for programmers around the world.

“I compared salaries with Canada and European countries. In the USA that they pay the most. In addition, there are all the conditions here: high-speed Internet, the ability to easily purchase equipment, because it is very affordable. For example, if in developing countries people save up for months to buy a laptop, here people just go and buy, there is no need to save money.”

In terms of potential, there are many companies here and not only IT industry that needs IT professionals. For example, insurance, medical, banking and financial institutions also need programmers and they are well paid.

“Besides, as I said above, there are a lot of big products, big companies. There’s a difference between creating an application that is used by 10 thousand people, and the one that is used by 100 million people. These are completely different approaches and scales. And there are also many IT conferences where you can meet popular developers, language coders, programs, technologies – and you can learn from these professionals.”

How do you assess the IT sector of Uzbekistan?

Darkhonbek assesses the development of the IT sector of any country according to the aspects of finance, infrastructure, growth and human potential.

“From a financial point of view, I confess that I am surprised. The salaries of programmers in Uzbekistan are growing very quickly, because large global companies have entered the Uzbek market. Also, specialists began to work for foreign companies. And the beauty of the profession of programmers is that you can do any job from anywhere in the world.”

Now, specialists from Uzbekistan are learning, looking for international and foreign projects and earning decent salaries.

As for the quality of the network, there is no problem with this in Tashkent. In addition, the capital is full of co-working areas where you can rent an office and work. But it’s whole different story when it comes to regions.

“I myself am from Angren. It is almost impossible to work from there due to the network. The regions have the same problem. But I know that IT Park opens branches and IT Centers where people can come to study and work.”

According to Darkhonbek's observations, there are many people in Uzbekistan who want to study in this area. Young people understand that IT is promising, you can make good money on it. The trend is positive. The only problem he now sees is that there are few big products and experienced programmers in Uzbekistan. There are people who want to learn, but there is no one to teach them. Students finish their studies to a certain level, and then nothing, because there is no one to direct them.

“Assessing human capital is more difficult. The population of Uzbekistan is more than 30 million people, and those interested in the IT industry are quite a lot. But the problem is that now our programmers cannot compete with world-class programmers in terms of quality. There are very few specialists who can work on huge products. The rest do not have such knowledge and experience, and they do not meet world standards.”

Therefore, Darkhonbek added, it is important to improve the quality of both the university program and courses.

“I am sure that with the right approach, Uzbekistan will soon reach a new level. We need to help people develop a different way of thinking, entrepreneurial as the matter. Work not just for some IT company, think bigger, think about how to create your own business.”

When asked if he plans to return to his homeland, Darkhonbek says he practically never left.

“I come to Uzbekistan every six months. Here I deliver a speech at universities, at conferences. So I almost didn't leave. But on the serious note, now I am studying the world, and in the coming years I plan to travel, study different countries, their culture and business. I am interested in how the IT industry works in this or that country, what problems they have, how they solve it, where and what kind of business one could start. Whether I’ll be back or not, I don’t know, time will tell.”

What advice would you give to young programmers?

Darkhonbek gives specific advice to young professionals.

“In the first year or two of your career, focus on gaining experience. Find internships, even unpaid ones. Do projects and build a portfolio."

He also advises young programmers to read a lot and get rid of bad habits.

 “1. I recommend the book "Atomic Habits". It describes techniques for getting rid of bad habits and building good ones. These techniques will make your learning process easier.

2. Programming is sedentary job. Go in for sports — go to the gym, run, ride a bike.”