Hello Andrei,🙂
first of all, thank you for doing this interview with us! We’re more than happy to share your career path with other people who might be interested in software development. Could you give us a short self-introduction?
I’m an engineer who wanted to become a programmer and did it. My simple path was: nuclear “paper” engineer (7 years) -> sailor (6 months) -> creative engineer (9 months) -> programmer (2 years).
When you found out that programming and IT field is something you might be interested in? Who/what has influenced you the most?
The first thought came to me that something in my career must be changed. I was looking through vacancies on the Internet and was impressed by the number of different opportunities in IT field. (and by the salaries, of course 😉 )Then I decided that it was impossible for inexperienced me and left this idea for several years. Now I understand that it was a mistake. I was afraid of failure. The thing was hard for me to understand: If we don’t do anything, we definitely won’t fail. There was no advice provided to me on work in IT. Everything was a matter of chance.
What was your job at the time?
I was a nuclear engineer at NPP for 7 years. Then decided to change my life and became a sailor (trainee of nuclear reactor operator) on the icebreaker “Yamal”. A decision that sea is not mine came fast. Then I found a job which was linked with creativity – started to produce metal tanks. But it wasn’t enough. Previously I had had some experience in programming and I decided to improve my skill to be employed.
Could you tell us about the process at the very beginning and what kept you motivated?
It was really hard! It seemed that the volume of information could blow up my mind. And I was thirty-two years old junior developer. But no one can describe emotions when you’ve done something and it works! Excitement, thrill and joy are my motivators.
What major challenges did you face?
- to understand that you understand nothing and deal with it
- bugs! Sometimes I wanted to cry because of these small «arthropods»
- to prove that I am not worse than my experienced colleagues
- to understand that I’ve chosen the way of an endless challenge
Why are employees leaving their jobs? These are the 6 most common reasons:
- job that’s not fulfilling their desires
- they’ve reached their goals and did the best in their current job
- they have lost their job or are at risk of being laid off
- they are frustrated to see no other meaning in their work or having a job that contradicts their values
- they are overworked or close to a burnout
- financially underrated job
Have you experienced something similar?
There was all of this except the risk of being laid off. But I agree with option No.1 the most – when you have a job that’s not fulfilling your desires.
It’s never too late to start anew – but some people are too afraid to start. How would you encourage them?
We have only one life to live! We must rock! And there are minimal risks if you rock in IT. If programming is not yours, you can always become an analyst, a project manager, DevOps, QA-engineer, UX-designer or even a bearded admin if your face allows.
Have you ever went through IT courses and do you think programming certification is helpful when looking for an IT job?
I permanently attend free IT courses. There I catch new ideas for my projects and keep observing unstoppable changes of IT industry. I don’t have significant certificates and believe that it is just a “paper” which will be outdated in several months. Maybe I will change my mind! Who knows?
We need to be crystal clear about our end goals and visions while learning to code. What do you think, is that true?
- fulfilling your creative potential
- true feeling of freedom
- salaries above market
Cons:
- high eye strain
- high mental strain
- fast changing environment (experience can become outdated in a short period)
What other skills does a good developer need?