John Oyegbite

What’s been your career path as an engineer at Bloomberg?

After graduating, I started out with the company about eight months ago as part of the entry-level training program. I work with the News Publishing team where we build story-creation tools for the newsroom, in addition to developing novel approaches for improving the efficiency of news production.

Tell us about Bloomberg’s entry-level training program. What are the biggest challenges? Can you tell us about a rewarding experience?

The training program exposed me to Bloomberg’s tech stack and development tools that I would be using as a software engineer here. Specifically, I was thrilled to get accustomed to the Terminal and also to understand the collaborative use of different programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, and C++. All of these technical expositions, along with the opportunity to meet a new community of like-minded engineers, were rewarding for me! My major challenge was transitioning to the use of C++ since it was my first time being exposed to this language.

How did you play a role in choosing which engineering team you would join after training? And why did you choose the one you joined?

The work culture at Bloomberg considers each individual’s interests and preferences. This helped me connect with various team managers – all of whom are doing great work – during the entry-level training program. However, I was particularly struck by the values of the News Publishing team and the technical details of its systems.

Technically, the team develops new models and uses programming languages – JavaScript and Python – that interest me, and the additional use of C++ presented an opportunity for me to learn a new language. Interpersonally, the managers and team members were welcoming and friendly, which has been helpful in overcoming challenging times. I also love to work on projects from scratch.

So, in terms of the tools and the team’s spirit, and what I felt I needed to learn — that’s why I chose the team I’m working with.

What projects are you working on?

One project I’m working on is a tool that suggests edits to our journalists in real-time, so their writing follows Bloomberg News’ Style Guide. This previously leveraged pre-defined rules, but we’re looking to add more automation to the system.    

You moved from Lagos to London. What was that like, and how is your work life different now?

First, I experienced a seamless relocation from Nigeria to London thanks to Bloomberg’s support in visa processing, flight booking, and a wonderfully welcoming apartment.

Upon arriving in London, I struggled with adapting to the weather which was far colder than Lagos’ sunny climate. However, I remain one of the few people who enjoyed the recent heat wave. It has been a really interesting adventure for me.