I did not reach the position of
senior Java Developer right away. First of all, it’s worth saying that I graduated from law school. During our studies, we were taught Pascal, but I was absolutely not interested in it, and I did not attend classes. I worked as a sales floor manager at a well-known electronics chain store. I thought that programming was absolutely not for me. I’m not ready to sit at the computer at night and ruin my health and eyesight. I wanted to grow to a manager in my salon and eventually become a director. But all my thoughts about a career disappeared during my military service. When I returned, I didn’t know what to do and for the next couple of years I worked wherever I could. I was a courier, a bartender, a warehouse worker, etc. I began to realize the stupidity of my existence when I was sitting in a warehouse. There was only a couple of hours of actual work a week; the rest of the time I was left to my own devices. Nobody was watching me, I killed time as best I could: TV series, games, books. At some point I realized that I was beginning to degrade, that this road was leading nowhere. I have no special knowledge, am not a professional in any field, and at this rate I will spend my whole life working for pennies. I began to study the market, look for an area that would be interesting to me. In which I can immerse myself completely, and with which I can connect my whole life. At that time, the Internet was already full of advertisements for all kinds of programming courses, in which stories about the successful success of graduates shone. I looked around and came across
JavaRush . I studied this site, read the stories of people who studied here, watched inspiring videos about how cool it is to be a programmer. That you can create something with your own hands that has never existed before. I was inspired by this idea and my eyes lit up. I suddenly realized that I had underestimated this area. There are many advantages to programming: excellent salary, the ability to work remotely, and create something of your own. You become a sought-after specialist all over the world.
And I saw the light: programming is exactly what I need. I paid for the subscription and started studying. One day a boss walked past me. Noticing what I was doing, he came up and said: “
Are you teaching Java? ” Cool, but it’s complicated and the entry barrier is high, so pay attention to a simpler language: Ruby, Python. I ignored his words and continued. I didn’t get far, the problems became more and more difficult to solve, and at level 4 I stopped understanding what was happening. Due to the complexity of the language or my lack of preparation, interest in Java quickly disappeared. But the passion for changing professions has not dried up. I decided that I really should choose something simpler, for example 1C. I started watching video courses and looking at the requirements for vacancies on hh.ru. I realized that when I come to apply for my first job and they ask me about my experience, I will have absolutely nothing to tell. All I can do is demonstrate interest and desire to learn and develop. But in order not to be unfounded, I had to show what I had already done in this direction. I needed to get certificates. My first certificate was 1C Platform Professional. Professional level certificates are the lowest level of qualification. It consists of 14 tests, to successfully pass you need to answer 12 correctly. Two weeks later I received my first yellow crust and immediately began preparing for the next one - 1C Platform Specialist. Platform Specialist is a serious exam and consists of 5 tasks. The tasks are very voluminous and complex. After passing, you defend yourself in front of the checking examiner. You have 5 hours to decide. Your preparation for the exam should be such that after reading the conditions of the problem, you should already know the solution, since there is barely enough time just to type the code. Just as I started getting ready, I was notified that the warehouse I was working at was moving. I didn’t have time to prepare and pass the second certificate, so I started looking for work. I sent resumes everywhere I could, but the demand for programmers without experience is very small. I was invited to an interview with a well-known 1C franchisee, First Bit. This company is famous for the fact that their newcomers do the most “dirty” and low-paid work - delivering boxes of disks, installing the 1C Enterprise program on client machines, advising clients on some minor issues, etc. Anything, just not programming. I understood this, but there was no choice. I made an excellent impression at the interview. I ranted about how I really wanted to code, that I was studying hard, had already received my first certificate and was preparing for my second. My enthusiasm and zeal to code were heard, and a couple of days later they called me back and offered me the role of a junior programmer in the office, without traveling, in the development team. I was incredibly happy about the invitation and accepted it immediately. I was given a probationary salary of 35k. But before I had even worked there for two weeks, I received an offer to another place - not a franchisee, for a similar position. And I went over to them. The first time was wildly difficult, I was shocked by the tasks that fell on me. I did not expect that I would be entrusted with immediately solving such important and complex problems. Of course, my code was reviewed, and my colleagues helped me in every possible way. When my probation period ended, I decided to discuss growth prospects with my manager. We agreed that when I receive that very complex platform specialist certificate, my salary will be increased. And I returned to the preparation that I had abandoned. I set a goal to receive a certificate in 2.5 months. I divided the preparation into two-week stages. 6 weeks for the first 3 problems, 2 weeks for 4 and 5 and another 2 weeks to solve all the tickets in their entirety. The first week I watched a course on YouTube on the first problem, I understood almost nothing, but I tried to solve it. I looked at ready-made solutions and repeated them. Then I tried to reproduce it from memory. The second week I watched the same course again and was already beginning to understand what the lecture was about. To meet the deadline, I needed to study more intensively. I got up in the morning and devoted 2 hours to this before work and spent almost the whole evening after work. At work, whenever I had a free minute, I watched courses and read articles. After two weeks, I could already solve the first problem from the ticket on my own. I realized that there is progress, and since I already know how to solve one problem, I can solve everything, it’s just a matter of time. And I registered for the exam. I studied problems 2 and 3 in a similar way. I stopped spending my free time on anything that wasn't studying for the exam. And after 1.5 months of such intense training, my brain was so overloaded that I began to have trouble sleeping. My brain refused to turn off when I lay down. I noticed that I woke up at night and solved problems in my head and did not fall asleep until the morning. The deadline was approaching. I started training in speed. My first attempt took about 7 hours. This was no good, and I decided that I would solve one whole ticket every weekend day and one problem from the ticket every weekday. In two weeks I managed to hone my skills and bring the ticket solution to automaticity. I didn't think anymore, I just typed the code. And in the exam I was the first to pass the work. I completed it in 4.5 hours, 1 hour of which was spent solving a non-trivial problem. I didn’t come across anything like this during my preparation, and, as I later found out, it was the most difficult of all the possible problems that came across in the exam. I was rated "good". When I left the training center building where the exam was held, I immediately updated my resume with a fresh piece of yellow paper. By that time, I already had 3 “Professional” level certificates and the first “Specialist” level. The next day, I pleased the manager with the fact that I am now the owner of this certificate. A certificate that none of my colleagues had. The manager, in turn, “delighted” me with a salary increase to 50k. I decided that all my suffering deserved more and decided to look for offers on the labor market on my own. When I opened my resume, I doubted for a long time what salary expectations should be indicated. After consulting with my wife, I entered 100k. I really didn't expect to get that much After all, I only have six months of experience and the only decent certificate. They called me right away and, after asking a few technical questions over the phone, they invited me for an interview in the office. They also asked me what the reason for such low salary expectations was. I was a little surprised by this question, but did not attach any importance to it. The interview was scheduled for the same day. I arrived and spent about 3 hours in the office, solving problems and answering questions from the interviewer. In the end, he immediately offered me a job. Everything suited me, I didn’t bargain, my salary was 125k plus mandatory bonuses, totaling 150k.
Thus, I started working as a lead developer at 1C just six months after I wrote “Hello world!” . Two months later, I received an email from JavaRush reminding me that I had abandoned training. It was then that I remembered how it all began and why it was done. The 1C language did not allow me to achieve the most important thing - it was in demand all over the world. I wanted to have the opportunity to work for foreign customers; practically no one needs 1C outside of Russia. I remained dependent on two factors: from Russia and from 1C itself. And if something happens to one thing, then I will lose my good job and income. It was decided to resume training in JavaRush. After analyzing this site, I drew up a training plan and set deadlines. I needed real projects that I could show at the interview. An internship from JavaRush could provide something similar, which involved working on a project very close to the real one, using modern technologies. Internships are held 4 times a year, the next one was less than 2 months away. To get there, you need to reach level 35 and solve the introductory task. 2 months is extremely short to complete the requirements from scratch. If you missed this internship, then the next one would start in 5 months. Plus 3 months to complete it - I was not ready to postpone changing my position from 1C developer to Java for a whole 8 months. It was decided to push harder and catch the next one. I already knew how to prepare. All my free time went towards this again. I already had a background, now the tasks did not seem as difficult as before. And in 1.5 months I managed to reach level 35 and solve the introductory task in another week. I was accepted for an internship. The training consisted of 11 modules, one per week. The workload was enormous; I had to learn a bunch of new technologies literally every day. My brain was racing. In the 8th week, without waiting for the end of the internship, I started looking for a job. This process did not take much time and within a week I received several offers for my first job as a Java programmer. I chose the most interesting company for me with the most current technology stack. They offered a salary of 120k. Now I am already
a Senior Java developer with an excellent income. I have several interesting completed projects under my belt, which have given me excellent growth as a specialist. Even now I never stop learning new things and developing professionally. Programming completely absorbed me. It turned out to be so “mine” that I could not have imagined it before. I finally enjoy my work and what I do.
The main thing is to set a goal, develop a plan and follow it. Now I have achieved my goal and now it’s time for a new one.
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