Yaroslav is a Java developer. He firmly decided to study computer science at the university, but became a developer long before graduation. The full story is here, below are the key points.
The first encounter with programming
Yaroslav heard about programming when he was 13 years old. At that time he played Garry's Mod, a game with built-in language called Е2. It allowed players to create something in a “sandbox” mode. Of course, the guy without a proper programming basis could only manage to copy and paste some code or customize something written by others, but it was the first time he felt the interest in coding.
The second attempt to learn coding
Yaroslav abandoned programming for a while, but he accidentally stumbled upon our Java course. He was 15-16 years old at that moment and still lacked some general knowledge. It was tough for him to figure out what classes in Java are, so after a couple of iterations he put his learning on the backburner.
The lucky third time
Again, he returned to programming in his graduation class. Yaroslav already knew that he’s into IT, as he enjoyed coding, gaming, etc.
With that in mind he resumed learning at CodeGym from the very beginning to make sure that at that moment he’s capable of overcoming all of the previous obstacles. Finally, he was able to pass the half of the course with no trouble. By the time when his university studies had begun he was already at the level 30.
He enjoyed all programming-related studies, but the lack of practice and personal approach was hefty.
Unexpected offer
Yaroslav continued to learn programming aside from university studies. Being a sophomore, he already had a core knowledge of Spring, databases, JDBC, and Hibernate, which made him a quite suitable candidate for a trainee / junior developer.
Eventually (and unexpectedly) he got a message from a mate he’d met during his studies at CodeGym. A friend advised him to apply for a backend developer position which he was offered in the first place. Of course, Yaroslav questioned his skills, but decided to apply anyway.
After two test assignments and two job interviews he received an offer and decided to put a priority on career. That’s the story about how he became a developer at 18.
Helpful hints
- Do not bank on your degree. There are dozens of learning sources, not to mention that every developer is bound to stretch the learning process for a lifetime.
- Sort out your priorities. Being torn between studying and working is difficult. On top of that you might feel emotional pressure and fear of making a mistake, so weigh up the pros and cons. If it’s worth the risk, then do it.
- Don’t put aside your personal life and think about the things you need alongside your career. You surely have your dreams, that also should be fulfilled.