We continue a series of texts where CodeGym University students and graduates share their learning experiences and goals.
This story is about Alex Caceres, who learned to program in the Java Fundamentals course, became an intern in the Polish office of the company from the UK, and later got a job offer as a Junior Java developer.
My friends persuaded me to try programming
I worked as a marketing and sales specialist in various teams in IT companies. That's when I became friends with many developers and gradually realized that a profession in sales was less promising than I believed.
At that time, some of my friends who worked as Java developers told me I should try to learn to program. I refused this initially because I thought it was difficult and required tons of math knowledge. But eventually, I decided to try it and enrolled in the JavaScript programming course, and I didn't like it. Maybe the course wasn’t that good because it made me think programming is not for me.
Some time passed, and my friends continued encouraging me to learn Java, saying things would go better with Java. Now I agree with them. I am very grateful that they advised me to learn Java in particular. Java is the coolest programming language. I saw many other languages during work, so I know the difference.
There’s a saying that you need to be able to read the documentation to become a good programmer. Well, Java code itself is documentation! That is why it is very cool and convenient. In my opinion, everything is more chaotic in Python and JavaScript, while Java is perfect for your first language as a learner. With Java basis, you can later learn any other programming language. And, of course, there will always be work for a Java programmer.
So, at a certain point in time, I started studying at CodeGym University. I greatly liked it: I passed the first two levels, clarified a few things for myself, and started learning. It all happened during the pandemic, so there was much free time for studying. That's why I commenced my training in the morning and studied until evening.
It was essential for me that the course had a mentor who explained the educational material and had a clear schedule to follow. I know there is also a self-study course at CodeGym, but you inevitably sit down and practice only when you have a schedule and a mentor waiting for you.
The most significant difference between other courses and CodeGym University is that you have a step-by-step learning curriculum: you start with something easy, and the complexity of theory and tasks grows gradually. You don't need to learn everything at once and write a vast service or project immediately, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
At the first levels of training with a mentor, there are no complicated words and terminology – everything is explained in simple terms. Therefore, even a rookie can understand what is being said. For me, this is another critical aspect that made my learning comfortable.
I was offered an internship and, after that, a job contract
Little by little, after finishing the modules of Java Fundamentals, I started looking for a job. I went through many interviews and gained lots of experience. Why did I do that? Well, my friends advised me to start. They told me I probably wouldn’t get an offer, but at least I’ll prepare myself beforehand to land a job. I did not expect to receive an offer so quickly!
At approximately the end of February 2022, I had an interview with a UK company with offices in Poland. Everything went smoothly during our conversation, and the company offered me the opportunity to join their additional training and internship. After that, I received a job offer and a contract to work full-time. Now, I am a Junior Java Engineer.
The CodeGym University program is exactly what you need at work
I continue my learning as I work full-time. It is challenging to combine work and study, but I somehow manage this. Sometimes, when I do technical assignments at work that require verification by experienced programmers, I get a couple of hours or half a day when I have time to study.
The CodeGym University program is exactly what you will need at work. I say this as someone who is already working and has completed an internship.
Two tips for those who want to learn programming
Just start. Read articles, solve tasks, and in a couple of months, you will understand that you can write some programs and create basic APIs. So, little by little, you will become a programmer.
Go to interviews. Conducting interviews is a vital skill. You can be a great programmer but not a great "interlocutor." So you should go through many interviews to become good at it. I just knew I needed practice and knowledge: what questions they ask you and how to answer them.
