IT families: Damir and Akmaral Keldibekova

Daimir Keldibekov, city — Astana, programmer

Akmaral Keldibekova, city — Astana, iOS developer, @akma_meyramovna

About Us

Akmaral. We met in 2016 through social media. We communicated in thematic groups, discussed new movies, and actively shared music and event information.

Daimir. Our interests aligned. Over time, our online communication grew into something more significant. In 2017, we got married.

How We Entered the IT Field

Daimir. I studied at the Kazakh branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University in the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics. After graduating, I joined an IT company as a backend developer. I have been in the IT field for 11 years now. During this time, I have participated in hackathons and programmed in frontend, cross-platform mobile development, and backend. Currently, I am a senior software engineer at DataArt, working in a hybrid format.

Akmaral. For more than five years, I worked in the energy sector in my specialty as an automation engineer for technological processes. During the pandemic, when everyone started actively using mobile applications, I became interested in learning how to develop such apps. I enrolled in a mobile development course offered by BTS Education, became the best student in the course, and became so engrossed that I completed the program in two months and wrote my first application. After finishing the course, the company invited me to work as a mentor for their beginner course. That is how my career in IT began.

In three years, I managed to work in product-based and government companies, as well as startups. Currently, I am a senior iOS developer. I work in a hybrid format. I enjoy having face-to-face contact with the team, but sometimes it is nice to work from home without distractions.

Division of Responsibilities

Akmaral. We live as a couple, and we do not have many responsibilities, but we try to organize everything so that our life together is convenient and pleasant. Once a week, we order groceries and prepare food for the week together, so that later we spend minimal time cooking. We do a major cleaning together every two weeks: Daimir vacuums and mops the floors, while I clean the cabinets, refrigerator, and kitchen shelves. At other times, a robot vacuum helps us keep the place clean.

We also manage our finances jointly. At the beginning of the year, we plan all our trips, investments, and major purchases for the year ahead. Regarding travel, I handle buying tickets and choosing hotels, while Daimir plans the itinerary and selects activities. In my free time, I practice yoga and love baking various types of pastries.

Daimir. In our free time, we enjoy walking in parks. A few times a year, we travel to new cities or countries. Sometimes we solve programming tasks together. I also go to the gym and love riding a bicycle.

Family Traditions

Daimir and Akmaral. On Fridays, after the workweek, we order delicious food delivery and watch a series or movie. Every Sunday, we go for breakfast to new places, trying something new. We also always give each other gifts on birthdays.

Balancing Home Life and Work

Daimir and Akmaral. When we first started working remotely, it was difficult to separate work and personal time. We often stayed at the computer solving work tasks, which caused us to miss gym sessions and disrupted our eating schedule. We lacked time for spending together as a family. Over time, we learned to manage our time better and now fully separate family life, work, and household chores.

Recommendations for a Happy Family Life

Akmaral. Over seven years of marriage, we have learned to listen and hear each other. The most important things in a family are mutual understanding, respect, and trust. Any goal is achievable and any problem solvable if you always support each other, openly and honestly discuss issues, and plan joint actions.

A characteristic feature of working in the IT field is the constant need to learn new things to stay current and remain a sought-after specialist. Because of this, anxiety, stress, and changes in emotional state often occur. In such moments, only support and faith in each other help, knowing that together we can overcome any difficulties and achieve our goals.

Daimir. It is important to understand that a family is created by two complete individuals who have their own personalities, personal space, and hobbies. There is no need to change your partner; you should accept them as they are. Remember that ultimately, you become each other's closest people.

How IT Families Differ from Others

Daimir. In my opinion, the peculiarity of partners of IT specialists is that they can help and support each other at work, while still being a family at other times. Moreover, they are more mobile and can work from anywhere with an internet connection. I think our family is not particularly different; we are like everyone else, with our own concerns. We make plans and look to the future with optimism.

Akmaral. One of the features of IT families is a close connection with technology. We actively use various gadgets and applications to simplify everyday tasks, whether it is planning purchases, managing a budget, or organizing family events. We also constantly strive to improve and optimize other aspects of our lives — we learn to invest, study financial literacy, and improve our time management.