Bogomil Valev graduated from Telerik Academy Alpha with JavaScript in June 2020, the summer of the most unusual and controversial year in modern history. Then the phone started ringing.
“I was surprised! Even though we were told it was going to happen,” Bogomil recalls the first days after he graduated from
Telerik Academy Alpha JavaScript, adding:
“Companies were actually calling me for interviews! I believe I did well, and a week after graduation, I received a job offer. At the beginning of July, I was already working at
interop.io.”
It sure happened fast for Bogomil, but this was no coincidence. It was the result of the intensive training he went through at
Telerik Academy Alpha JavaScript and all of his efforts during the program.
The first step towards a new career
Bogomil has a master’s degree in “Automation, Information, and Control Systems“ from the Technical University of Sofia - Branch Plovdiv. His studies were focused on industrial process control, systems and robotics. He also had some programming classes, but this was not enough to kickstart a developer career.
“Before delving into front-end development, I was working at an electronic music television channel, providing creative assets and scheduling the daily playback.”
But it was time for a change - a decision that brought him to Telerik Academy.
The life-changing journey
“I’ve learned a lot of new things in the Academy,” shares Bogomil, adding that not all of them were JavaScript-related. During the program, he mastered lots of general programming paradigms and principles and how to build upon his knowledge upon graduation.
“I cannot be more thankful to my trainers. They really gave their best, and all of them had a personal approach to every student - never letting anyone feel out of place.”
He believes the personal approach of the trainers and also working together in teams were instrumental in his training.
“The projects we got assigned were tailored to our skills and helped us gain insights into the process of developing a web app from the ground up. I really liked that we got to team up with other students because it mimics the work environment and allowed us to support each other during the process,” adds Bogomil.
He also values strongly the soft skills trainings, especially the help and guidelines regarding crafting a stellar CV and going into detail about the hiring process of the IT companies.
Soft skills trainings are an
essential part of each Alpha program. They are dedicated to helping students develop their ability to manage feedback and expectations, ask the right questions, prioritize, and stick to high-value activities.
The soft skills trainers also helped Bogomil realize something crucial for every master junior talent - “companies are not after that one guy who knows everything,” as he puts it.
“Such a person doesn’t exist! And even if they did, they probably wouldn’t be able to fulfill the requirements of good team communication and superb self-organization. Most companies are after a well-rounded individual who understands their priorities, with good interpersonal skills, who also has solid basics in the programming language at hand.”
So, equipped with technical and soft skills, Bogomil was ready for his first job in the IT sector.
Working with brilliant engineers
“Telerik Academy helped me jumpstart my career in programming. It augmented my interest in IT, as well as in other areas such as personal skills development.”
Two weeks after graduating from Telerik Academy, Bogomil started working at
interop.io as a software engineer. He currently helps maintain an application that assists thousands of people to do their job more efficiently.
“What initially attracted me to the company was the attitude of getting things done that seemed to be one of its core principles.”
He has been part of the
interop.io team for more than 7 months now, working side by side with different software engineers from the company - “all of them brilliant in their area of expertise,” as he describes them. Working in such an environment helped Bogomil gain additional insights into some of the best practices today.
“It is really motivating for me to be able to discuss ideas and concepts that could improve the product that we’re delivering with such talented people.”
Today, Bogomil is sure that he is at the right place and interop.io validated his initial expectations:
“I believe that interop.io offers ground to prove and develop oneself, as well as contact with very experienced individuals to learn and collaborate. The people here really have an attention to detail and are very proactive.”
Bogomil’s advice to you
“Never give up and don’t be daunted by harder problems. They can only help you get better. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your trainers or other students - they will never judge you for not knowing something as you are there to learn. Be ready to help others – it can only help you gain a deeper understanding of the subject. Know about the impostor syndrome because you’re almost always guaranteed to feel it during the learning process, and maybe at your future job too.”
Are you ready to take on your journey to a successful IT career? Then don’t hesitate and apply to
Telerik Academy Alpha.
