Craftsman who enjoys the nitty-gritty of coding

Programmer Tan Kai Heng likens himself to a craftsman who gets his hands dirty with the nitty-gritty of coding and figures out complicated coding puzzles to get a software up and running. At Primary Three, the Computer Science graduate from Nanyang Technological University had already configured his own HTML website, inspired by his “tech-geek” father.

Mr Tan, 27, is now a programmer with local company Gametize, a digital platform which uses gaming psychology to motivate behaviour.

Besides taking up programmer duties, he was also recently assigned the task of improving the work flow of programmers in the nine-man firm.

While some software development companies have observed fresh computer science graduates being lured away by bigger firms or the thrill of running their own start-ups, Mr Tan said he joined his current employer, a relatively small company, as he felt he lacked the business know-how to start a company.

As a programmer, he also enjoys a degree of creativity and flexibility, and if he had joined a big company, he would have to take orders from higher management, he said.

For now, Mr Tan aims to deepen his skills in programming and become better acquainted with industry trends. Besides the satisfaction of helping to create products, the rapidly-changing nature of technology — resulting in new programming know-how constantly emerging — also keeps the work exciting, he added.

In the long term, he hopes to be able to use his skills to help others, and is studying existing gaps in the community sector.

“I hope that one day I will be able to use my programming skills to build something for the community and make a difference in people’s lives,” he said. NG JING YNG