Maxime's passion for technology began during his studies in Industrial Engineering, where he quickly realized that his true interest lay in computer science. "After a month, I already knew: IT is what I wanted to pursue," he says. Now, Maxime is confident that he's found his place at XQTING, where he enjoys working every day, constantly seeking new challenges and ways to improve himself.

Practice
Although his education was project-oriented, Maxime had limited practical experience before joining XQTING. "During my education, we didn't have a real internship, only a final paper as a bachelor thesis," he explains. This made the transition to a professional IT environment exciting, but also full of new opportunities.

One of these opportunities was working with Odoo technology, which was new to XQTING at the time. "I was fortunate to start here with something that was new for the whole team, so I didn't have a huge gap with the rest," Maxime smiles. Despite this, he sometimes feels the pressure of new projects: "The biggest stress often comes from having to start something new while the rest of the team is already at a higher level. I don't like asking 'stupid' questions and prefer not to hold anyone back."

Variation
What Maxime particularly appreciates about working at XQTING is the variety in his workday. "At most companies, after completing your education, you're either a system administrator or a developer, often without much variety. Here, I work with different languages and projects," he explains. His first job interview at XQTING was an instant success: "The interview with Wim went really well, and I had a good feeling about it."

Beyond variety, the job at XQTING offers Maxime the chance to find his own path within IT. "If you come from a specific background as a school leaver, here at XQTING you can adjust that direction a bit. You get to know many different areas within IT and can later choose what you want to specialize in."

What you do yourself...
Maxime emphasizes that he has always tried to solve problems on his own: "At school, we were encouraged to figure out as much as possible by ourselves. I believe that the time people spend explaining something to me is time they could use more effectively elsewhere." Although he is tough on himself, Maxime is always ready to help others: "On the other hand, I enjoy answering others' questions—maybe that’s something typical of our generation?"

Efficiency
Maxime enjoys starting a project from scratch the most. "Every new line of code you write yourself, allowing you to keep a better overview," he says enthusiastically. The least enjoyable part? "Starting on a project that's been ongoing for a while, with all the existing code that you need to analyse. It can feel like those first few days are just about reading how everything is structured, and that doesn’t always feel very productive."

Nevertheless, Maxime continues to challenge himself to work quickly and efficiently. "I don't always give myself enough time to learn," he admits. "Sometimes I need to allow myself to work more slowly and not impose such tight deadlines on myself."

Humour
At XQTING, Maxime has found his niche in a team where collegiality is key: "We help each other when needed. If someone is stuck on a project, another team member can take over if necessary," he agrees. Despite the busy workload, the team spirit remains strong: "We often joke with each other about the different projects we’re working on."

As for the future, Maxime is keeping his options open: "I’m not too focused on the future yet and prefer to take things day by day. I don’t want to set strict goals for myself to avoid the fear of failure. Right now, I’m still open to all possibilities within IT."

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