Today we are publishing the story of GeekBrains student Leonid Khodyrev (), He is 24 years old. His path in IT differs from previously published stories in that Leonid immediately after the army began to learn PHP, which ultimately helped him find a good job.
My career history is probably different from all the others. I have read career stories of IT representatives, and in most cases, a person confidently moves forward, doing everything or almost everything to achieve their goals. It’s not like that with me - I didn’t know who I wanted to be at all and didn’t make plans for the future. More or less seriously, I began to think about this after returning from the army. But let's go in order.
Waiter, porter and paralegal as career start
I started working early, my first "specialty" was the distribution of leaflets. They gave me a pack of papers, I distributed everything, but I did not receive any money. Nevertheless, the experience turned out to be useful - I began to understand what I might face.
Then he worked as a loader, a waiter, performed various tasks at outdoor events, combining it with his studies. I studied in college, at the same time I mastered the topics of creating websites. I created simple sites on popular CMS, and I liked it. But still, I went with the flow, not really thinking about what I need in life.
Well, then I was taken into the army, thanks to which I saw the whole country. Already in the army, I thought about what I want to do in the future. Remembering my experiences with websites, I decided that it would be interesting for me to work in this area. And while in the army, I began to look for the possibility of distance learning. Courses caught my eye GeekBrains, which I settled on. As far as I remember, then I just typed the key “programming” or “learning to program” into the search, saw the course website, and left a request. I got a call from the manager, whom I began to methodically ask about everything.
Of course, it would not have been possible to study in the army, and there were no special funds, so I postponed my studies for the future.
Exodus in IT
After I was demobilized, the money did not increase. In order to start training, I had to return to my previous job as a waiter. When I received a salary, I bought a course and started. Unfortunately, it became clear that a full-time job as a waiter takes a lot of time, which was not enough for study. A solution was quickly found - he began to help a familiar lawyer with paperwork, and in the "high season" he went to work as a waiter.
Unfortunately, study was difficult, I quit studying three times. But then I realized that it couldn’t go on like this, the waiter is good, but IT is much more important. Therefore, he took time out from work and devoted himself entirely to his studies. Soon I realized that I not only like it, but really like it. A little later, the first orders for the creation of sites began to appear, so that in addition to pleasure, this activity began to bring money. Somehow I caught myself thinking that I do what I like, and I also get paid for it! At that moment, I decided on my future.
By the way, in the course of training, in practice, I developed quite a serious project for myself - a content management system. I not only wrote it, but I was able to connect several sites. More about the project - .
In short, the project is a user-friendly platform that can be easily scaled by integrating with various services that may be needed to run a business. Target audience - entrepreneurs and webmasters. For them, I wrote the "Store" extension, which allows you to manage product categories, the products themselves, their properties, and process orders.
This is my first serious project, developed using no less serious technologies. Of course, when you evaluate it, do not forget that I developed it in the course of training.
New office job
I have already said above that in the course of training I carried out orders for the development of sites. And I really liked it - in fact, so much that I didn’t really want to work in an office. But then I began to understand that teamwork experience is also needed, because most developers at one point or another in their careers get a job officially. I decided to do it too.
As I remember now, on Monday morning I opened hh.ru, uploaded a resume, added certificates and made the account public. Then I looked for employers who are closest to my home (and I live in Moscow) and began to send resumes.
Literally an hour later, the company I was interested in answered me. I was offered the same day to come for an interview, which I did. I note that there were no “stress tests” and other strange things, but I was still a little nervous. They began to ask me amicably about the level of knowledge, work experience and in general about everything.
I didn't answer some questions the way I would like, but they took me. True, they made me worry - at first they said that they would call back. Actually, this is usually the answer when they do not want to take a candidate. But I was worried in vain - the cherished call sounded in a few hours. The next day, having collected all the documents, I went to work.
I was immediately jailed for maintaining an online booking system that allows agents to book hotels, transfers, and the like. I make sure that everything works properly, refine the functionality and add various features (bugs also happen, where without it).
An example of what has already been done:
- Booking reporting module;
- Improved platform interface;
- Database synchronization with service providers;
- Loyalty systems (promo codes, points);
- Integration for wordpress.
As for the tools, here are the main ones:
- Layout - html/css/js/jquery;
- Databases - pgsql;
- Application written in php-framework yii2;
- Third-party libraries, I use many different ones.
If we talk about income, it is much higher than it was before. But everything is relative here, because during my studies I earned about 15 rubles a month. Sometimes there was nothing at all, because I received orders only from acquaintances who needed websites.
The working conditions also have nothing to compare with - it is clear that they are much better than those that I had while working as a handyman or a waiter. The commute to work takes only 25 minutes, which is also good, because many residents of the capital spend much more time. Speaking of Moscow, I moved to the capital from Zelenograd, where I lived with my parents. I moved to the capital during my studies, when I was creating websites to order. I like everything here, I'm not going to move, but I plan to see the world.
What's next?
I plan to continue my path as a developer because I enjoy my work - this is what I like. Moreover, tasks that seemed difficult to me before are now not difficult at all. Therefore, I take on larger projects, rejoicing when everything works out.
I keep learning because some of the topics that I need for my work can be difficult to master on my own. Teachers help to understand everything even after the main course of study is completed.
In the near future I want to master a new programming language and learn English.
Tips for those just getting started
I once read articles about the career of IT people, and many people say “no need to be afraid” and things like that. Of course, this is correct, but not being afraid is half the battle. The main thing is to know exactly what you like. Try to learn the very basics of a language, for example, with the help of lessons from the network, then write a script or the simplest application. If you like it, then it's time to start.
And another piece of advice - do not become a lying stone, under which, as you know, water does not flow. Why? I recently found out how some of my classmates are doing. As it turned out, not everyone got a job. I invited several people for an interview at my job, because my company needs good specialists. But in the end, no one came to the interview, although before that I was asked a lot of questions.
You should not do this - if you are in the mood for a job search, then be consistent. Even if it seems to you that you have little experience, try to pass a few interviews - many companies take newcomers in the hope of growing a specialist in their own. If the interview fails, you will gain valuable experience and know what the recruitment process looks like from the inside.
Source: habr.com