A career in IT? The best choice of my life!

Success stories of reorientation in it-economics Bulgaria, and also how to become a programmer (part one).

Experts say it is normal for a person to make three career changes in their life. Living in a dynamic world, this number can even reach up to seven. A career change often comes with many worries and uncertainties, but also with many benefits. We step out of our comfort zone and learn, improve our standard of living, reduce stress, and improve relationships.

We offer a few stories of motivation, perseverance, and dedication of people transitioning into the IT industry. What were they, what was the reason for them, what are our colleagues doing now, and what is satisfying them?

Marin, a civil engineer by training, “I saw the limited development opportunities, as well as the attitude of people and the way you are being judged.”

Marin

Marin is a Civil Engineer by education. A little over a year ago he decided to leave behind the solid experience he had gained in the field of civil engineering and turn to something he had done earlier in life, namely software engineering. As a Project Manager in construction, the responsibilities were enormous. From being the driving force responsible for the successful planning, execution, and completion of the project to being the team coordinator and communication unit. Here’s what Marin shares about his transition:

“As the years went by, I saw times and times again the lack and the limited development opportunities that you have, as well as the attitude of people and the way you are judged. It was all this that triggered the thought of returning to programming and my desire grew stronger day by day.
So today, despite the relatively short time I have been with the company, I can boldly say that I have found, what I have been missing. I am currently involved in a project developing a product for the banking sector and it is very interesting for me to achieve business logic with my still fragile knowledge, and I might add that anyone can work where they feel comfortable. I am very happy and motivated by the fact that ideas and/or thoughts are valued and find a place in what I develop, and the freedom in how I can achieve it. I like the fact that I am surrounded by people who are willing to help in my quest for development and even more that it is such a quest that is stimulated and supported in every way possible.

I am aware that I am not the first person to make this choice, but in conclusion, I can advise anyone hesitant: just try – it’s worth it.”

Anatoly, agronomist – horticulturist by qualification: ‘I realized that I lacked perspective for development. Therefore, I needed a change.

Anatoli

Anatoly graduated with honors from the Agricultural University of Plovdiv. During his studies, he did an internship and after graduation, he started working in one of the largest orchards in Southern Bulgaria. He maintains irrigation systems, prepares pesticide spraying programs, and supervises various types of activities – mechanized treatments, pruning, harvesting, etc. His reason for reorientation:

“After a year of work, I realized that due to unpredictable stressful situations and frequent communication with people who were already professionally satisfied, I did not see a development perspective. Therefore, I needed a change.

Knowing what the standard of living, the flexibility of work, and having time to myself was like, I decided to find out if programming was for me.

During my school years, I trained in chess and managed to become the junior champion of Bulgaria. I knew that logical thinking would be of great help to me, and after 6 months of self-training – reading books and watching courses related to the Java programming language, I looked for a job in the IT market.

I got a job offer as a junior Java programmer in it-economics. I was extremely impressed by the company’s culture and working atmosphere. For the first 3 years of working in the company, I was given the opportunity to solve problems in different programming languages – Java, JavaFX, JavaScript, PHP, and Kotlin. Making changes to the architecture of the project I was working on, namely DevOps tasks related to Terraform, Kubernetes, and Azure. I was also trusted to guide other junior developers in their development. I am truly grateful for the treatment I have received and for the chance I have been given to develop professionally!

If you too are at a stage in your life where you feel out of place, I very much hope my story has inspired you. With each step out of your comfort zone, you progress!”

Nikolay, with a Master’s degree in Management and Corporate Marketing: ‘After 5 years of experience in trade and a lot of pressure, I decided to turn my sight in IT’

Nikolay

Nikolay has been part of the it-economics Bulgaria team for almost 1 year. He works as a junior system administrator. Before that, he was Marketing Specialist and Sales Manager. He studied Management and Corporate Marketing. After 5 years of experience in sales, he decided to retrain in the IT field, motivated after meeting a client.

“My client advised me exactly which course to take and after completing it and getting the certificate, I started going for interviews. A few months later, I received an offer from it-economics Bulgaria. One year later, I realize that I made the best choice of my life because I got the opportunity to develop both my career and additional skills, a lot of social benefits, events with wonderful colleagues in Germany and Bulgaria, and most importantly – a completely decent salary.”

It-economics Bulgaria employs developers and IT consultants to help clients with their digital transformation, and improve the quality of work and life of millions of users. Our employees work in international teams and find the best ways to tackle every challenge. For us, programming is a creative profession and that’s why we trust, give freedom, and show appreciation for the achievements of our talent. We respect the needs of our people, we are honest and kind to each other. And you can feel it from the first meeting with our colleagues. We focus on quality, not quantity.