Alin Rusu, From Java Code to Financial Wisdom in the Smart Financials Community

At GlobalLogic, the analytical skills of our engineers are transferable to any challenge, not just technical ones. For Alin Rusu, Senior Java Developer, working in the banking industry sparked a curiosity that quickly turned into a passion for financial growth. The Smart Financials Community from Romania is where this passion thrives, proving that collective knowledge sharing is the key to accelerating personal development and achieving financial empowerment.

The Financial Spark: How did your passion for finance begin?

I started my journey with Fortech at the beginning of 2015 and continued with GlobalLogic after the merger completion. I am currently a Senior Java Developer, working on a project in the banking industry for more than six years now. The curiosity for the financial field started by watching some YouTube videos during the pandemic, in 2021, but I think working already in banking helped this curiosity grow. I enjoyed learning about personal finance and investments so much that it quickly became a passion.

When Daniel Mocan started the Smart Financials Community, it was a no-brainer for me to join and start contributing, first by responding to questions and adding info when I felt I could add some value, then by organizing sessions on topics that I knew well.

Alin Rusu during one of the Financials Community Presentation

Finance for All: How can any colleague benefit from the community?

A crucial thing is that we believe there are no stupid questions. In this community, there are both beginners and experienced colleagues in terms of financial education, and everyone has something to learn from the others. So, for any question or curiosity, there are always a few answers.

As the financial domain is so large, we have people more experienced in different fields, so that is a lot to learn from each other’s expertise. The presentations on various topics are typically structured in a way that both beginners and more experienced colleagues can benefit.

Erste Asset Management presentation powered by Smart Financials Community

The Return on Investment: What is the best success story or feedback you’ve received?

Feedback after presentations was always great, our colleagues were more than happy to have learned something new and even started applying it in their personal finances.

After a presentation about choosing the broker for investments, for example, I was asked details by several colleagues who were willing to start investing. They also appreciated the fact that we discussed what they needed to analyze in such a way that they could make a decision on their own.

The best feedback came from a colleague who told me that before joining the community, her knowledge about economies and investments was limited to bank deposits only. But participating in our presentations helped her broaden her knowledge, and she is now an active investor both in the Romanian and International stock market.

Daniel Mocan during one of the Financials Community Presentation

Synergy & Analytical Skills: How do your role and finance knowledge support each other?

I am currently working on a project in the banking industry. It is one of the most important financial groups in Romania,  implementing online loans solutions and additional services to make our client’s lives easier. We are helping clients get loans, credit cards, or overdrafts quickly from home, so they don’t have to waste time going to the bank.

Working in this domain and having so many bank specialists alongside goes very well hand in hand, I learned a lot of things that I could apply in my family finance. Yes, analytical thinking I use in my job helped me on a personal level and vice versa.

My Active Contribution: What motivates your continued engagement in the community?

My contribution to the community goes from holding presentations to answering questions and discussing in deeper details with colleagues that approach me.

It’s very nice that any member can contribute if they want, we have a lot of cases where a simple question asked on the community chat started a nice discussion that brought new perspectives.

The best motivation is the feedback received from our community members: there are concrete things they implemented on their finances that made a positive impact on their lives, which is awesome!

Future Investments: What are your goals, and what’s next for the community?

On the professional side, I aim at getting better in the financial domain both technically and business-wise, so that I could add as much value as possible to our clients.

Regarding the future of the community, I think more and more colleagues will join and will be interested in improving their financial education, and we will grow together. Also, I think more colleagues that are afraid to invest their money, thinking investments are only for rich people or specialists, will realize that it’s not the case and will start investing. I also have some ideas for future discussions on topics that were not covered so much yet.

Advice from the Expert: Why should a future colleague join GlobalLogic and the Smart Financials Community?

I would recommend anyone to join our community because of the people. I always had colleagues around me who were willing to help others grow. Joining a group like Smart Financials can greatly improve the perception about money and get rid of the stereotypes around them.

Pass the ball. The next story will be from the Project Managers Community. What question would you ask them?

I would like to know how they manage the human aspect of their role. Specifically, I’m curious: “How do you manage to keep your team motivated and engaged during tough times or challenging project phases? Also, how do you handle the difficult conversation when a client has unrealistic expectations about the timeline or quality of the final product?”