Spotify is the world’s leading music streaming platform today. According to official data, Spotify is currently listened to by about 615 million users living in 184 countries. Dana Batyrkhan, a graduate of the International University of Information Technologies in Almaty, works in Spotify’s Amsterdam office. We contacted Dana, who dreamed of working there since her student years.

We had a short conversation.

- "That's it. Everything is decided. I will connect my future only with the IT industry." When did this thought come up?

- Actually, at first I was interested in studying the structure of the human body. Noticing this, my parents thought that I would become a doctor, and gave me books on biology and anatomy. My older brother, a programmer by profession, worked at home on the computer day and night. I watched him from the side, observing his dedication to his work and his emotions. I did not quite understand what he was doing, but I saw that he lived a happy life. The salary was also good. So gradually I became interested in the production process. I wanted to work on computers, like my brother, and earn money. In addition, one day I saw two children fighting right in front of my eyes, and I was shocked to see that everything around was splattered with blood. Then I decided that I would not become a doctor, but would follow in my brother's footsteps and become an IT specialist. I was an excellent student at school. After developing a research project in applied mathematics and winning a competition, I was given the opportunity to enroll in the university of my choice.So, I entered the International University of Information Technologies in Almaty, majoring in Information Systems. In my third year, I participated in the nFactorial course founded by Arman Suleimenov. I liked the mobile app development there. After the course, I was invited to work in a mobile studio there. I worked there for two years and entered graduate school at my university. Then I got a job at Beeline and took part in improving its mobile app. After that, I worked for the largest and strongest IT company in Kazakhstan, Kolesa Group, for a year and a half and was responsible for improving its app. Later, when the pandemic switched to online work, it became possible to work from anywhere in the world. At that time, I passed the selection process at the American company Reddit and got a job online. A few months later, Spotify contacted me. I forgot that I had applied there. Getting a job there was my dream. I wanted to try my luck. To pass the selection, which included several stages, I prepared carefully, wrote a lot of reports. Actually, when I first applied to Spotify in 2019, I failed. I had little experience at the time. They said, “You have a lot of work to do. You have to do a lot of reports.” Two and a half years later, I passed the selection again. But this time, I had experience, I knew how to speak in an interview, and I could do a report. In the end, I passed everything without hesitation and got a call for a job. I was given a choice between Sweden and the Netherlands.

– Why did you choose the Netherlands and not Sweden, where Spotify is headquartered?

– I did some research to find answers to the questions of how each of the two countries treats expats and where it is better to live. Swedish people are closed, cold and introverted by nature. And the Dutch are open. They love to party, just like us. In addition, they treat immigrants from other countries well. For example, a local pays most of his income in taxes. There are discounts for expats. If you take seventy percent of your salary, thirty percent will be withheld as taxes. We pay less taxes than ordinary citizens. However, after five years, the situation will stabilize. Another thing to note is that Kazakhs here communicate like relatives. They organize various events dedicated to national holidays and maintain close ties with the embassy. At the beginning of the year, they went to Slovenia to support Kazakh football players. They are very close-knit and always help each other.

– What function are you responsible for at Spotify?

– My team works on the architecture of the Spotify app. Different teams are responsible for different buttons in the app. We review them. We tell everyone how to work and guide them. For example, when building a house, the foreman gives instructions to the builders: “You need to build a house like this.” You could say that we are the foremen of this app. We explain where to put what. If they have a hard time, we will help them. We are also involved in other projects. We implemented the ability to transfer a personal Spotify user profile from one device to another. Now you can listen to music not only on your phone, but also on your TV. You could say that I did it myself.

Spotify usually has offices in every country in Europe. Including America. It also operates in Japan and Korea. And the office in the Netherlands employs 120 people. Eighty percent of them work from home, and twenty percent work in the office. In fact, I initially agreed to work from home, but since we recently opened a new spacious and beautiful office, I now come to work more often, and this helps me a lot to stay in touch with my colleagues.

– I can’t help but ask. Do you listen to Kazakh songs on Spotify?

- Of course. I used to listen to the Ninety One band a lot. Now I’m listening to the songs I used to listen to again. I’m currently a fan of the singer Aiym. Her singing style and voice are amazing. In addition to Kazakh singers, bloggers also post their podcasts there. However, it seems that this function is not yet available.

- You said, “I dream of working there.” So, have you always wanted to create a music service?

- Yes, I’m very interested. I first heard about Spotify in the news. At that time, this platform was not available in Kazakhstan. We can only download and use VPN. After downloading it, I listened to music for the first time. I was left wondering how music is played here, how this app became a music streaming service. You could say that I got a job here to find answers to these questions. Now I know the answers to all the questions that bothered me at that time. My dream has come true.

– In the middle of the conversation, you mentioned the positive aspects of the Netherlands. However, there are always some inconveniences.

– Any empath living here will undoubtedly say that the main drawback is the changeable weather. Interestingly, it is windy here when it rains. Drops fall right on your face. The food is a bit tasteless. We eat a lot of salt in Kazakhstan. We immediately notice the taste of food, regardless of whether it is too salty or not. They do not have their own national cuisine, it is a mix of cuisines from different countries. They eat foods like sausages and mashed potatoes mixed with greens. For lunch, they eat bread with butter, and in between, sausage or cheese. They do not eat hot food. And if you eat hot food, you will not be understood. Banking here is also slow. For example, I waited for my card for two months. Even if you get your salary, you will not be able to use it right away. You will receive four envelopes with a card, a password and other documents. Four of them are at four times. Sometimes someone will pick up your mail and you won't find it. However, there is also a fast transfer service. You can still send a bill to someone else via Tikkie. It is worth noting that there are many festivals here. On King's Day, the whole country comes out in orange. They dance, they go boating. They celebrate. However, they do not celebrate as much as we do. Even on birthdays, they do not have big feasts. They do not even serve a cake, let alone a main course. There are those who believe that most of the food is thrown away. People here often like to dance, drink and relax.

– What are you dreaming about now?

– Thank God, my dreams are gradually coming true. I want to continue on this path and grow. I still have a lot to learn. I want to expand my experience and enrich my potential. I studied with good teachers and lecturers in Kazakhstan, my environment helped me a lot. I was looking for myself. A person who has a mountain of ambition, fire in his eyes and a high dream in his chest will achieve what he wants. Therefore, young people who want to make their future bright should believe in themselves and strive to make their dreams come true. In the future, I want to teach the youth of the country everything I know. If they told me: “Come to us and share what you know,” I would immediately agree. I have a master's degree, so when the time comes, I want to return to the country and teach at one of the universities. I do not want to do any project in the future. I just want to pass on my knowledge to our children in the country, teach them everything I can.

– Good luck! Thanks for the story!

 

Interviewed by

Aliya Tleuzhankyzy

turkystan.kz