The Story Behind Sprout HR’s Team Lead

Argie Canizares is software engineer at Sprout Solutions. Here, he shares with us how he went from being a janitor to becoming one of the leads for Sprout’s development team.

Starting out as a janitor

“I was studying mechanical engineering, but our family business closed. I had to drop out of school. It got so bad that we were eating only once a day, and eventually, I had to go to Manila to find work. I didn’t have a cellphone, I didn’t know anyone except for my family.

Two choices, then: be a stevedore at the Manila Pier, or be a janitor in Robinsons Galleria. Thankfully, I got accepted as a janitor.

While working, I considered going back to school. PUP would be too expensive. I was earning only around 8000 pesos per month, and I had to stretch it out really badly to cover for food, electricity, rent, the necessities.

Maybe AMA? On my way there to apply, I passed by STI. A pretty girl caught my eye, so I went in. With only an ID and P500 in my pocket, I managed to enroll in IT. The tuition every sem was P20,000–I couldn’t afford it, but my family and my boss were willing to help.”

Studying IT while juggling a full-time job

“To be honest, I didn’t know much about computers. To shut down the computer, I’d just pull the plug or press the power button. IT just seemed like a good choice because it’d only take 2 years.

I had a hard time at first. My teacher knew I didn’t know too much. I remember finishing a coding exercise early, and my teacher joked I might have copied it from my classmate.

But somehow, I improved. My teacher saw the potential in me, and I got to join a programming competition in our school. It was right in the middle of my 9-to-6 workshift–I had to leave during my lunch break. On top of that, nobody in my team took it too seriously. But we managed to win.

I only had three hours of free time then before going to sleep, and I was using those hours to code. Thesis was especially hectic. I’d code from 6 PM to 6 AM, then go home to shower and work on my 9-hour job. Kenneth and Carlo, two of my coworkers now, were also in STI.

I wasn’t exactly good at coding, but I kept on learning–and I was happy.”

Becoming the team lead at Sprout

“On my first IT job, I was paid P5000 every month, but after the company saw how good I worked, it went up to P15,000. Still, I was tired and stressed out, with little sleep–just like my undergrad schedule.

Then Carlo referred me to Sprout, where they used C#. I didn’t know C# yet, so I learned it on my own for 2 months. I’m not sure how I became the team lead, but I do my job as a programmer, by caring about the system and making sure the product doesn’t have any bugs.”

Plans for the future

“As for my goals? Well, I want Sprout HR to be really good. Also, to be knowledgeable and do my job well. My long-term goal is to buy my own house–anything beyond that, I see as a blessing.”

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source https://sprout.ph/blog/story-behind-sprout-hr-team-lead/