It’s always scary to start something, right? Especially when it comes to work, especially the work of a programmer. We talked to .NET programmer Sergei Chuiko about the fears of a novice programmer.

• How long have you been in IT and how did you get there?
• I have been working in IT for 2.5 years, I got it by heart, so to speak. I’ve always been interested in computers and everything connected with them. At first I studied in college, then in Lviv Polytechnic, majoring in “Software Engineer”. I loved to play computer games and thought “Wow, I love, I can still do them, wow!” (Laughs). Dreams crashed on the rocks of reality – at university I learned that making computer games is quite difficult, besides it is not taught, you have to learn it at home and spend a lot of time, literally, years! So far I have put this case in a long box, but I hope, someday return to this.

In general, the option of studying to become a doctor was still being discussed with my parents (laughs), but it was not interesting to me at all, so at the age of 16, I started learning programming. Taught Sharp, Web and so on and so forth.

• What fears did you face after graduating from university and realizing that now was the time to look for a job?
• In fact, I went to work while still studying at the University and, of course, I was afraid that I knew very little and my knowledge would not be enough. Learning by learning, but real experience is another. Even during my studies I had an internship from the University in one company and when I went through it, I did not leave the thought “I do not know this, I do not know that, and there is a gap.” At the same time, I understood exactly where I still needed to learn, which I did successfully.

During my studies, I sent resumes to different companies, it lasted about a month. In the end, everyone refused me (laughs) because there was no work experience. And then I began to fear that now I would graduate from the University and find nothing. But, damn it, in order to have experience, you have to take it somewhere (laughs).

In general, after several months of searching, I was hired for the first six months and studied again. Fortunately, I had a mentor who helped. It would seem that everything is simple – write the code, but there were many pitfalls, and no wonder.

The funny thing is that I did not apply for a sky-high salary, I agree to be an intern, if only I had experience.

• How did you manage to get your first job then?
• I was just spamming my resume for everyone! And then I was invited for an interview with the company and I passed! Just the lucky one (laughs).

For the first few months I worked on an internal project, then I was transferred to a client. I did not work for a lot of money, but I did not follow them – I studied at the University, at the same time worked in the desired field, and also had an income. What else is needed for a student?

• Does education matter?
• I will say this, when you come to get a job, everyone is interested in how much you are in the topic of modern technology and how to apply them. If you have a diploma with honors, but you do not know how to apply knowledge in practice – you will not be taken. Therefore, I advise everyone to go to courses, especially free ones – they teach you to apply knowledge in practice, then you have a better chance to get a job as an intern or junior.

If a junior comes to the interview who doesn’t know many ways to solve the problem, but knows one – that’s ok, we, as a company, can teach. But if the middle comes and also knows only one way to solve the problem – it’s bad and, most likely, he or she will be denied.

• What newcomers have you encountered in your life?
• There was one incredibly interesting case, when a 35-year-old man came to the interview, worked as a truck driver all his life and in a year studied the basics of programming on his own and he succeeded! This is a good example, as it should be. And there was another example, when a guy after 4 years of the University, after the courses came for an interview and does not know anything at all. Here is an example – as it should not be.
• What helped you get rid of your fears?
• The answer is simple – just practice. You either know something or Google it. In our profession, it is very important to be able to google (laughs). You need to be able to explain to Google what you want from it and then the answer can be found literally from the first link.

And you don’t have to build castles in the air, in fact, when you write 1 tape of code in 3 days – everything is not so fun and interesting. In all the works there are all sorts of interesting things when you are burning to do something, and there are quite routine when you just need to do everything.

Well, and of course, do not give up! If you fail an interview, it’s not a bad thing at all, it’s still an experience that will help you understand what is in demand and what you don’t know yet. I have a friend who went through about 20 interviews in 3 weeks and right on a few sheets he wrote down what he still needs to learn to be “on the run”.

Get rid of the stereotype that the person interviewing you knows everything – this is not the case. Every specialist has certain gaps that need to be filled.

Don’t neglect free courses just because, that “free cheese only in a mousetrap”, in fact, free courses are a kind of recruitment process in which the company is also interested.

There are few companies that start a programmer’s career, but Israel IT is one of them. We are happy to cooperate with young professionals, in addition, we give the opportunity to get involved at the start of the project – it’s an incredible experience! We have all the comfortable conditions for you – large spacious office, kitchen, free coffee and cookies, gym right in the office, table tennis, shower, game consoles, library, separate meeting rooms, happy hours with unlimited free beer, competitive salary, individual plan development and friendly team!