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Telerik Academy helped me jumpstart my IT career and become financially independent

George Mateev moved from his home town of Pleven to Sofia in order to study “Computer Science” in Sofia University. In his first year at the university, he joined Telerik Academy Alpha, the training program for software engineers.  to combine theoretical knowledge with hands-on practice and landed his first job as a software developer even before graduating from the Academy. Fast forward six years later, he now has extensive experience as a software developer and cloud computing engineer and is part of the Telelink City Services team.

Studying at Telerik Academy and Sofia University
George decided that Telerik Academy’s practical training will perfectly build on top and augment his theoretical knowledge in programming and math skills attained at the university. Telerik Academy’s structured curriculum, predefined deadlines and goals helped him organize his efforts and combine the two programs.

“I noticed that I’d need at least 1-2 years at university to master the theory taught there and gain some minimal practical skills needed to land a job in IT. Telerik Academy, on the other hand, helped me jumpstart my career and become financially independent in just a few months.”

Investment that pays off
George started working before officially graduating from Telerik Academy thanks to his advanced knowledge of a technology his employer used.

“I became full-time junior developer in a great company and received excellent remuneration. Instead of attending Telerik Academy, I could have prepared on my own, but this would have taken me more time. Also, not havingTelerik Academy on my CV would have made it more difficult to find a job.”

His investment in the training has paid off many times so far. George shared: "I don’t have to think about money, I can afford to travel, live in a good apartment and accumulate savings at the same time."

Truly loving jour Job
What attracted Georgi to Telelink City Services is the strong team of seasoned experts and flat organizational structure.

"The company’s management has wide experience in developing and managing large products and has completed many successful deals throughout the years. They work closely with us on a daily basis and we have no leadership hierarchy. All product decisions are being made in our office after discussions. We are building a product with serious aspirations and there is always a wide range of tasks to work on."

What excites George the most about his job is the opportunity to create an entirely new product – built from the ground up.

„This helps us always choose the latest technologies and use some of the best practices in the industry. I actively participate in design and architecture decision-making and work on a variety of tasks: from monitoring cloud systems loading and implementation of secure user registration mechanisms, to developing a mobile application inspecting passengers’ cards, to creating an integration and data analysis architecture.“

Advice to the new students
“In my opinion, focus is the most important factor. Students must be able to allocate the time necessary to attend lectures, exercises and do some additional self-preparation at home, even at the price of less sleep and entertainment.”