At first, Veselina had her doubts about applying to the
Telerik Academy Alpha Java program. After all, she was (and still is!) an undergraduate at the "Paisii Hilendarski "University at Plovdiv.
"I thought I won't have enough time," Veselina shared. "However, I decided to give it a try and do my best to achieve great results."
And that's precisely what happened!
Veselina is still at university in her third year, but she is also an Associate Software Engineer in the C2E iBit Build Automation team at our partner
Software AG. Before joining the company, Veselina had no experience in the IT sector.
"I've completed some C++, C# and Java courses for beginners, but the Telerik Academy Alpha Java program was the one that helped me start my career."
For Veselina, the offer from
Software AG came a week after the Alpha Java program. This is what happened before and after this exciting moment!
Before the offer: Telerik Academy Alpha Java
Despite her initial worries about combining university and Alpha Java, Veselina decided to give the program a try and do her best.
Veselina started building her technical skills at the
Telerik Academy, which later gave her "a significant advantage in the interviews", per her words. She also learned the importance of one crucial part of our programs - the soft skills session.
"We had weekly soft skills meetings, which taught us how to work better in a team, give proper feedback to our teammates, and many other highly valued qualities in the IT world."
Veselina found everything she had learned during the
Alpha Java program extremely valuable and needed for her current job.
"There was a good balance between technical and soft skills, which were very useful. Telerik Academy's trainers had successfully compiled, prepared, and incorporated in their classes most of the things that a Junior Software Engineer would need to jumpstart their career," Veselina shared.
After completing Alpha Java, Veselina felt that all of her efforts had completely paid off, including that she met with her future employer during the program.
"Now, I work for one of the companies I find most fascinating and a company which I chose just before graduating from Alpha Java," she added.
After the program: working at Software AG
At
Software AG, Veselina is part of a team responsible for the localization of all of the company's products, which are hundreds. Some of her main responsibilities as an Associate Software Engineer are to keep running the process of making localization possible by developing new tools, using different technologies, and maintaining currently used software.
"As part of a very skilled team, I can progress quickly and gain a lot of experience, which then helps me solve more and more difficult problems. What excites me the most is the opportunity to develop my skills in a big international company that manages to adapt itself to the constantly evolving digital environment and to live up to the huge amount of customers' expectations," she said.
Veselina shared that one of the main reasons for choosing
Software AG as an employer was the motivating environment which would help her increase her knowledge and grow her career.
"At Software AG, I can gain experience in many cutting-edge technologies, widely used by some of the leading software companies worldwide. Also, I dreamed of working in a friendly atmosphere. I found them all at Software AG."
Tips for people just starting out programming
Veselina’s advice to those who want to become developers is to stay motivated:
"The program is very intensive and challenging, so you need to be really motivated and give your best to succeed. No matter how hard it may seem to you at some point, I promise you that you won't regret it in the end!"
You want to be a successful software developer? Mission possible! Get on the fastest path to a fulfilling IT career, and apply to
Telerik Academy Alpha Java.
