“The main thing is not to be afraid of your desires, to dream, to do someth...

rabiarahi

Before the courses, I worked at Stadler (note: a branch of a Swiss company that produces railway rolling stock) for about two years – working off my time after college. Unfortunately, I realized too late that I needed to study. I wasn’t an excellent student at school, but I wasn’t a bad student either. However, I didn’t do very well on the Centralized Testing, so I went to get an education as an electrical technician. I didn’t like this field at all. The mandatory work was a burden. And I wasn’t going to do it any more.

While working at Stadler, I had experience as an entrepreneur. I helped my father with his business: I set up targeted advertising, created a website, dealt with some organizational issues, and communicated with customers.

I always managed to connect with social media marketing service people somehow. There are cool and kind guys working at the plant, but their range of interests is very limited. I understood that there would be no professional development in the field. And at that time I somehow got carried away by IT, so I thought about changing my profession.


- And what exactly attracted me?

The IT sphere is a place where there is a need for new specialists. It is concentrated with people, looking at whom you yourself strive to learn something new and from this you move towards self-development.


- Were you interested in any particular area?

When I thought about IT courses, I asked my friends who were working in the field at the time for advice. I was interested in developing areas. They advised me to consider business analysis, artificial intelligence, and mobile app development. And since I had been using Apple products all my life, I chose iOS development.


- Why TeachMeSkills?

A friend of mine, who I was working with at Stadler at the time, recommended it. There were other options. However, they were discarded almost immediately: in one place you had to wait three or four months before the course started, and in another I didn’t like the communication. Yes, as strange as it may sound, it has a huge impact on the choice. When I called to find out about studying at a school in Minsk, they spoke to me as if I were an IT specialist, and the operator presented the information from a condescending perspective.

- Was the training easy for you?

It's hard to say for sure. In general, the amount of information was manageable, if, of course, you don't slack off on the lectures themselves and devote enough time after classes to working through individual points. Since after just a couple of classes I realized that iOS development is not the field I would like to work in, it ended for me with defending my diploma.

Sometimes it was difficult to overcome the inner punk who protested against what he didn't like. There was also some misunderstanding between the group and the teacher. But these are work-related issues that, I think, always happen during the educational process.


- You said that iOS development ended for you with defending your diploma. And you didn't even try to get a job in this field?

Yes, I did. At the last class, they explained to us how to write a resume correctly. I also plucked up the courage and wrote to the school's HR so that he could check if everything was written correctly. When I received a positive answer, I started responding to vacancies. There were three or four phone calls, but they all ended in refusal. I attribute this to the fact that the employer had a demand, as if he was looking for a middle for the position of junior. It really pissed me off. I am not against developing, but everyone needs everything at once, and no one provided the opportunity to learn something new and gain experience.

They also asked about English. Now I understand that without it it is very difficult, especially when it comes to maintaining some kind of documentation. But for the position of junior, let's be honest, at first, it is not really necessary.


- Still haven't found a suitable company?

No. After the courses, you sat at home for about two months. I studied English, tried to improve my skills in mobile development. But then I realized - this is not my thing.

And somehow, having got together with friends, we decided to create something of our own: we organized a small agency for the development of mobile applications.