The stories

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Hubert Borowczyk</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">After school I started working as a paramedic in an ambulance and at the same time (like most people working in the health service) in a hospital emergency ward, also in the same position. I did this for almost 2 years and then managed to change my job to something quieter. I found a job as a laboratory technician in a blood donation centre, where I worked for another 7 years and reached the point where there were few development opportunities.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">By nature, I am a person who wants to constantly develop, learn something new - I do not like to "standstill". Why did I choose programming?</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">It started a few years before the course. My wife runs her own business and she needed a website. In the age of the Internet, access to all sorts of tutorials is unlimited, so I figured I'd take on the task myself.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I started looking for a course, but at that time there were not many bootcamps. I found Coders Lab. Unfortunately, the courses were held only in Warsaw. There was the possibility of a weekend course, but commuting was out of the question for me.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The topic was quiet for a while. After those few years, at the moment when I started to think about changes, I came across an advertisement of Coders Lab with the information that they start courses in Poznan.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I appreciate the course itself because of several elements. First of all, every fortnight (weekend mode course) I had a weekend just for myself and could develop my passion, which with small children at home was not so easy. Secondly, it's great that the course is geared towards practice. There is a presentation and then most of the time there are assignments and various exercises. There is no unnecessary stuff in the course programme. The course is run by practitioners, people who are "in it". (it is not always like that in computer science classes at school). Sometimes it was nice to see it when I was struggling with a problem. I asked the lecturer for help and I got an answer, which was logical and simple. I couldn't think that way yet and couldn't see the solution. The large number of "homework assignments" added to the mobilisation and meant that I also had to set aside some time at home, which was the biggest challenge for me.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I watched tutorials, invented mini-projects for myself, etc. I tried not to lose touch with programming.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I got to my current company (SPOC S.A.) indirectly through Coders Lab, i.e. the company cooperates with Coders Lab and a colleague from the course got there, who in turn recommended me.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Do I like it? That is an understatement. I work on projects for global, recognizable brands so I gain valuable experience. I have the opportunity to learn about processes and how such powerful companies function. Additionally, practically every day I learn something new, I can develop and move forward.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course gave me a solid foundation to start working as a programmer. In retrospect, I can say that it was one of the best decisions in my life because thanks to it I am now where I am.</span></p>

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<p>You have filled out the contact form, which means that you are interested in our offer and expect contact from our site. Before sending us your personal data, read more detailed information on how we will process it. We would like to be able to process your data in order to provide you with <a href="https://coderslab.com/en/rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">information</a> about our services. If you are no longer interested in it, you can always oppose it. This will cause us to stop processing your personal data for this purpose.</p>

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Find out how to decode your power

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Each graduate had different motivations and doubts at the start. But they made a bold decision and took that first, difficult step toward change. They let go of past achievements and lessons learned and... changed their professional lives. See how they did it.</span></p>

Find out more the alumni's stories

MANUAL TESTER, FORMER GEOLOGIST

JAVASCRIPT DEVELOPER, FORMER Hearing Aid Technician

FRONT-END PROGRAMMER, FORMER PARAMEDIC

AUTOMATION TESTER, FORMER  MUSICIAN

Hubert Borowczyk

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Wojtek Burczyk</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Of all the dreams I had when I was little, the one I wanted most was to become a fireman. It was a sentimental dream - my grandfather was a fireman. In high school, I had to decide what I wanted to do next in life and at that time it seemed to me that physiotherapy was the profession for me.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">When we moved to Wroclaw, I started to think about my professional future and whether I wanted to continue working in my learned profession.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The turning point came when I met some local programmers. The IT world has moved on a lot in terms of technology. I decided that this was the place for me, that I also wanted to be part of this world and contribute my little bit.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I already had several years of experience and I had to start all over again. I was no longer 19 years old.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">&ldquo;It's a decision that will make me have to rebrand myself&hellip;&rdquo;. At the time I thought it would take me a few years - I was sure I would go to university.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">A friend mentioned programming courses to me and I started getying interested in them. Ultimately, the choice fell on Coders Lab.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The first impression was a bit of a shock because I thought that I would be one of the oldest people, and it turned out that I was one of the youngest. On the other hand, it was also motivating - it turned out that I am not the only one who feels such a need to change.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course itself was fun, sometimes it was also stressful, e.g. before exams. The lecturers were great - without exception. I fondly remember all the moments I spent on the course.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">After completing the course I was still employed as a physiotherapist. When I started applying for junior positions, the most common response I got was that if I wasn't able to start now, companies would find someone with more experience to take my place. So I took a chance and quit my job overnight. Even though I wasn't the most attractive on the job market in terms of experience, my willingness to start working right away proved to be a great asset.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I also had an idea to stand out in recruitment. I wanted to do something different from everyone else, so I made a short film about myself</span>.</p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Every recruiter gave me positive feedback and many said the video was a great idea. In the final stage of recruitment, I had a choice between a large organisation and a small company. In the end, I decided to start my first job in a smaller company because I thought I would learn more there. And in the end, I wasn't wrong.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I feel like a programmer, even though I know how much I still don't know, how much I still have to learn. And I will keep learning.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Check out how to decode your power.

BACK-END PROGRAMMER, FORMER LOGISTICIAN

JavaScript Developer, previously Project Manager

JAVASCRIPT DEVELOPER, FORMER 3D PRINTER INSTALLER

PHP DEVELOPER, FORMER BUSINESS ANALYST

JAVASCRIPT DEVELOPER, FORMER SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Wojtek Burczyk

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Jacek Aumuller</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Generally speaking, it was the ProAudio industry. I worked with a company that produces high-quality ProAudio and HiFi cables and in this company, I was in charge of running and testing online shops. I didn't break away from the ProAudio business completely - I still sometimes play concerts, and I will never give up playing on stage.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">For some time I have been planning to switch to IT. The testing industry is so interesting that I did not need any additional motivation, and my tester friends reliably presented me with all the pros and cons. Besides, I already had some experience in it because I was testing online shops.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">In the course, the biggest challenge for me was learning SQL. Before the course, I knew that there is such a thing as SQL, that there are databases, but this concept was very vague. After the course, I was already writing advanced SQL queries without any problems, and I quickly became an expert in the team. I took on the most difficult cases, requiring complex joins and nested selections.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">One is based on SQL database and its task is to facilitate the work of the HR department, the second one is based on NoSQL - MongoDB enabling the management, organization and promotion of IT events (such as hackathons, meet-ups, workshops). These applications will go into production at any moment, so these projects can be considered a success.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently starting another project in an international team, this time with a very advanced CMS. Since the beginning of my career as a tester (April 2018, so in 4 months) I managed to advance from Junior to Intermediate and became a Test Lead.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Less than a year after completing the Manual Tester course I signed up for the Automation Tester course and this knowledge will come in handy in my daily work in my upcoming project.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The testing industry is not easy, but with clear goals and consistency you can successfully gain new "points". For me, it was an additional challenge to switch from event culture to corporate culture. However, after 20 years of experience I probably had to reinvent myself, and working in Agile has advantages.</span></p>

<p><span style="color: #626262;">I confirm that I have read and accept the information on data processing.</span></p>

<p>You have filled out the contact form, which means that you are interested in our offer and expect contact from our site. Before sending us your personal data, read more detailed information on how we will process it. We would like to be able to process your data in order to provide you with<a href="https://coderslab.com/en/rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">information</a> about our services. If you are no longer interested in it, you can always oppose it. This will cause us to stop processing your personal data for this purpose.</p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Each graduate had different motivations and doubts at the start. But they made a bold decision and took that first, difficult step toward change. They let go of past achievements and lessons learned and... changed their professional lives. See how they did it</span>.</p>

Jacek Aumuller

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Miłek Politowski</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">My choice after secondary school came down to two majors: computer science or acoustics.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">For context, I have to go back to my high school days. My way through the school years led through classes with a mathematical and physical profile. In the middle school period, I started to develop the first of my interests - the passion for music - by starting guitar lessons. In high school I started to be interested in the more pure nature of sound - first amateur recordings and attempts at mixing several soundtracks, etc.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Also in high school, and I don't remember exactly how it happened, I became very intrigued by the subject of programming. Maybe it was influenced by my older brother, a student at Poznan University of Technology at the time. I bought a PHP 4 textbook with my allowance and made my first attempts at writing code.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">How do the above stories relate to each other? They coincided with the moment of choosing the further educational path after high school graduation. The choice boiled down to two directions: computer science, which seemed like a more pragmatic choice at the time, or sound directing, which tempted me as being more sophisticated.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The beginnings disappointed me terribly. The number of meaningless classes did its job and killed all motivation in me. Paradoxically, I remember philosophy as the most interesting subject of the first semester... I quickly returned to my family home, waited for the next university recruitment period and reached for my dream of studying acoustics at Adam Mickiewicz University. There I got my diplomas in both sound directing and ear training and noise protection. Somewhere in the second half of my studies, I started to rekindle my love for writing code, but this time choosing typically front-end technologies. This allowed me to develop the website of the student radio station, which I actively co-founded.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Immediately after university I followed the path set out by my studies and slowly took my first steps into the hearing care industry. At first, I got a seasonal job with the National Hearing Test campaign. I travelled around the country in a specialised vehicle called a hearing bus and performed preliminary hearing tests for anyone interested. I know that I helped a lot of people.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">After a short break, I took a full-time job as a hearing aid dispenser at a hearing aid clinic in Poznan. My job was to diagnose hearing problems and assess the impact of hearing loss on patients' ability to recognise words. They generally only came in when the hearing loss had already significantly reduced their quality of life, making it difficult to communicate freely with people. Since the absolute majority of hearing loss is irreversible damage to the auditory cells, my challenge was to choose the right device that would correct the individual hearing loss and at the same time meet the patient's expectations.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Well, facing customers was not my strong suit, and I soon realised that although I was a good audiologist, I was a poor salesman. Also, at times I couldn't cope with the sad stories that explained why someone had lost their hearing.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">What motivated me most to sign up for the course at Coders Lab was the feeling that I was moving away from my true aptitude. In practice, I spent every spare moment at work in front of the computer and absorbing articles about frontend technologies. I decided that I needed to act fast. At the same time, an advertisement for Coders Day fell into my hands. Participating in it convinced me even more that I wanted to change my profession.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">It will come as no surprise that the decision was difficult both for financial reasons and limited time availability. I was only certain about the technology - front-end enchanted me for good. The opportunity to attend a weekend course helped me with the time constraint.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course itself organized the knowledge I had so far, showed me good programming practices and introduced issues completely new to me, such as Webpack or the clue of the course - React.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Going to classes was a bit like training at the gym - after each month you could see the effects ;). However, it wouldn't be like that without practising the same amount at home. I was also happy as a kid when the lecturers gave me additional tasks.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I did not want to extend my contract at the prosthetic office. The course was supposed to end in April, and my contract ended in February, so I started looking for a job in December. I believed that the material learned up to that point would be enough to get an employer interested in a junior who "wants to".</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">It wasn't easy, because during the first interview (at a software house with a fairly recognizable brand), due to the stress I was wrong about the simplest tasks. A sense of shame accompanies me to this day because during the interview they stopped believing that I did a much more difficult home recruitment task myself, although I spent almost a week on it...</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Then (at the turn of the year) I started spamming local employers. Eventually, after more than 30 applications and probably 5 interviews, I got my first IT job as a junior frontend developer at Cognifide after a recruitment process that lasted almost 1.5 months. I must admit, I felt proud! :)</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I would like to add that as a way of saying "goodbye" I prepared a brand new website for the prosthetic office I worked for, replacing the archaic Joomla version with the more user-friendly WordPress.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">In Cognifide I implemented the front layer of a website for a large, clothing brand. It was an interesting experience because it combined, on the one hand, building static website components based on Adobe Experience Manager and, on the other hand, creating dynamic shop applications written in React. I was very lucky because I joined a completely new team, so I was present in the implementation process from the very beginning!</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">In this job, I met fantastic people (there were also Coders Lab alumni) who helped me understand Redux, so commonly used with React, or made my head ache when I read code written functionally in RamdaJS. I feel grateful because they kept me wanting to develop.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Due to the client's rather innovative approach to UX, I was repeatedly confronted with very unusual solutions to problems related to DOM object manipulation.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">My cooperation with Cognifide ended after a year - I felt that I had to try working in a place where the front end would not be so strictly dependent on the CMS.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently working in an international corporation, where I am responsible for preparing a prototype of the front-end part of a new version of an application supporting the work of the so-called investment managers in a bank. It is a very interesting project, mainly because it is the first one in which I use the new React Hooks API. The whole project is crucial for the company because it's the first stage of modernization of the product's client layer.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I have plans to move to Egnyte - from the arrangements, it seems that I will join the team that primarily deals with the development of new functionalities of the company's main product.</span></p>

PHP DEVELOPER, FORMER PRODUCTION PLANNER

Miłek Politowski

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Piotr Skowronek</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Even before my studies, I had made some tentative attempts at programming based on books or tutorials, but I decided that computer science is not for me. I thought that the good results in maths and physics required at university would not be needed later in my everyday work (if only I knew how wrong I was).</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">After graduating from high school I went to study English. I soon realised that I wouldn't be able to conquer the world with that and did a Master's degree in logistics. There's something about planning a production process and breaking it down parts that fascinates me. I even worked in the profession for a while, but programming was on my mind all the time. In the meantime, I helped develop an e-learning platform for a large corporation. I also worked as a business analyst.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I was determined to soak up the knowledge and get the most out of the course. At home, I repeated the exercises and looked forward to each new class that cleared my doubts or explained how something works.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I wondered how, being only after a few-month-long course, I would be able to compete with programming graduates.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">However, I resigned from my first job pretty quickly due to the use of rather outdated technology. Later I supported an e-commerce platform for one of the largest printing houses in Poland. I met there very experienced people, who very quickly corrected my knowledge deficiencies and showed me a good path that I should follow to gain further experience.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I deal with the preparation of new websites and web services, as well as the maintenance of existing ones in probably every possible industry. The scope is very wide - from simple landing pages to more complex web applications.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The variety of projects does not allow me to get bored, so I gain experience in various areas at a rapid pace.</span></p>

Piotr Skowronek

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Przemysław Pajdosz</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I graduated from the Poznań University of Economics with a Master's degree in Commerce and Marketing. For 6 years I worked as a sales representative in various industries, from telecommunications through FMCG to industrial sectors. I had direct contact with clients, I was responsible for sales and maintaining relations with clients in my area.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I wasn&rsquo;t satisfied with my profession, I lacked seeing tangible effects of my work. It was different with programming - I had started learning on my own, so I already had some contact with the IT industry. Unfortunately, I still lacked the self-discipline and regularity to develop in this direction.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">What I appreciated the most during the course was the structured way of conveying knowledge and the regularity of learning. The support of the mentor and lecturers was important. Learning to write code on my own, I often encountered obstacles that seemed insurmountable at first glance. I spent a lot of time solving such problems. Such situations could also block me for several hours, or even days. The course completely solved this problem, as the lecturer's 'watchful eye' was able to find my mistakes very quickly.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">It was a completely new experience for me and I definitely wouldn't have managed without the support of my partner. Together we conquered the challenge and I completed the course.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">In my case, the job search after the course went very smoothly. One month after I finished the JavaScript course, I decided to change my job. The whole process, from sending my CV to the information from the employer that I got the job, took 2 weeks.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently working as a JavaScript developer. I have contact with both front-end and back-end. I am very satisfied with my job and feel professionally fulfilled.</span></p>

<p>You have filled out the contact form, which means that you are interested in our offer and expect contact from our site. Before sending us your personal data, read more detailed information on how we will process it. We would like to be able to process your data in order to provide you with<a href="https://coderslab.com/en/rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> information</a> about our services. If you are no longer interested in it, you can always oppose it. This will cause us to stop processing your personal data for this purpose.</p>

FRONT-END PROGRAMMER, FORMER PHYSIOTHERAPIST

Przemysław Pajdosz

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Szymon Cendecki</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Before the course, I worked in various factories mainly related to the automotive industry. While learning on the course I worked as an installer of 3D printers. I also happened to be a student at PWR at the Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I was motivated to participate in the course by my work situation at the time (installer of 3D printers), as I had had enough of switching positions. I simply wanted to have a quieter job. The decision to enrol in the course was very easy as I had already tried my hand at programming - many years ago I tried to learn BASIC and Turbo Pascal.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">My impressions after the course are very positive. The course opened my eyes to many issues that I had no idea about, or simply explained to me how to use certain technologies. It brightened up a lot and, paradoxically, showed me how little I knew. The idea of homework was good, it's always some extra experience.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The presentations were the only thing I could complain about. They were not interactive enough, sometimes I thought I didn't understand what was written in them. The module related to React was the most challenging for me, it made me a bit nervous.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">After the course, I only answered one ad and that was it. I didn't change my job, I continue to install 3D printers. Finally, work has stopped irritating me so much - I can unwind by creating my own projects.</span></p>

Szymon Cendecki

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Tomasz Radwan</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">During my work as a planner I wrote a tool to create production plans in Excel (I used Excel functions and VBA). Working on this project made me realize that I would like to create new features on my own and develop in this direction.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Although I studied Computer Science and Econometrics, the knowledge I gained several years ago was not the basis for starting work in IT, especially since I did not have any professional experience in the industry. I decided to do some research on what steps I needed to take to become a programmer.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I started looking for a job immediately after the course, I sent about 15 CVs and was invited to 2 companies. I started my first job 1,5 months after the end of the course.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The biggest challenge was balancing the course, work and then my duties as a dad after my daughter came into the world. A big thank you to my wife, who took on some of my responsibilities as a parent towards the end of the course and during the initial job search phase.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I develop new features based on the Magento platform.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course gives a boost of knowledge, but we have to put a lot of effort into continuous development. In IT, you cannot rest on your laurels, you have to learn continuously.</span></p>

Tomasz Radwan

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Karol Sobieraj</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Before the course in Coders Lab I was a professional soldier for 2 years. I was in the army because I was looking for an interesting and at the same time stable job. After these 2 years it turned out that this is a job that does not give too much opportunity for development, too much routine creeps in. And at that point I decided to change something.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I was actually given the idea to attend a course by a colleague, because I had never connected myself with the IT industry. It always seemed to me that you need to have a minimum of 5 years of relevant studies, some experience and a strictly scientific mind. However, it turned out that the course for Manual Tester does not require such skills or education. That is why I decided to give it a try.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Manual Tester course in Coders Lab lasted 2 weeks. Those were very intensive 2 weeks in terms of acquiring new knowledge. It was often connected with working overtime. And I finished the course with an internationally recognised ISTQB certificate.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently working for an international telecommunications company as a Software Tester, and I found this job after 10 days of completing the course.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">After the course, my life has changed dramatically. Firstly, I have more time for my family and secondly, I feel that I can direct my career path. Nobody does it for me. In life, you should not be afraid of changes, because they create our reality. You have to believe in yourself, start acting... and I think I am the best example of that.</span></p>

Karol Sobieraj

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Marta Tobiasz</span> about her career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I worked in a family business, in fact in all positions from cook to waiter, and even manager. The hardest thing was that you worked several hours a day, 7 days a week and you didn't really have a chance to take a day off.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">My fianc&eacute; finished Coders Lab 2 years before me. He encouraged me, he pitched it to me. I said "let's give it a try". I chose the first Java course at Coders Lab. There was a lot of work, especially in the first week. I remember moments when I cried, when I said I was too stupid and I wouldn't manage. But after that, it just sort of fell into place.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">One of the more positive memories of the course is the support you get from the group, from the other participants, because even if you have some moments of breakdown and you know that there is something there you still don't quite know how to do, there is always someone from the group to help you.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently working as a programmer for the fourth largest transport company in the world. After the course I found a job in 1,5 months. I know many people who are afraid to sign up for such a course. They have the attitude: "Me? IT? I'm sure I can't do it!", while I believe that everyone is capable of learning to code - it's just a matter of hard work and believing in yourself.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Now my life is much more interesting, it has changed for the better. I can develop in my work, I can set new goals and achieve them. There is no more boring repetitiveness in my life and I am a much happier person. I think that going on the course was definitely the best decision of my life.</span></p>

Marta Tobiasz

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Wiktoria Gugała</span> about her career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Already during my studies, I started working in my profession, at first as a freelancer and later on as a full-time employee. I worked as a Geologist at the Geotechnical Laboratory for almost 3 years. My job was to perform and prepare soil analyses. During my work, the laboratory developed a lot. We introduced new tests, which involved the need to prepare forms for the development and presentation of test results.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I had the feeling that I couldn&rsquo;t quite develop further in my profession. I also didn't feel like it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I didn't know what I wanted to do. It was then that a colleague of mine at work told me that I should look into testing. He was also in the process of changing industries, doing a postgraduate degree in Software Engineering. So I started to take an interest in the subject. I read a lot of articles, looked at the job market and decided that it was something I would be perfect for.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">In the beginning, I was determined to take a weekend course, but in the end, I chose a remote course. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about the online version, but it turned out to be a great success! The classes took place in the evenings during the week, usually every other day and on Saturdays. I found it to be the perfect option. There were a few hours of classes followed by a day off, so you could consolidate your knowledge. We also had additional tasks regularly, which also allowed us to consolidate our knowledge.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">At the beginning of the course, we prepared for the ISTQB exam, which took place in Warsaw. The further part of the course was practical. We wrote a test plan, scenario and test cases based on requirements for a specific website. We did it with the help of tools that may be useful in our future work (JIRA, TestFlo, TestLink). After preparing the test cases, we moved on to executing them, i.e. actual testing. At each stage, we could consult with our lecturer. At this point, I would like to thank Magda Biernacka for her great involvement during the course and also for her expertise and mental support after it.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I went through several recruitment processes, including one recommended by Coders Lab. I am currently working as a Junior Test Specialist in Alior Bank in Cracow. I am testing a website and a mobile application for T-Mobile Bank Service.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am glad that I decided to take the course in Coders Lab. As a person who has not been involved in the IT industry before, I needed solid basics that I could later develop on my own. This is what I expected and what I received.</span></p>

Wiktoria Gugała

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Bartosz Biskupski</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Professionally, I had never been involved in IT before. I studied international relations - interesting studies, but they did not provide the prospect of a quick entry into the job market - at least not 10 years ago. After graduation I started working in a related profession - I was in charge of foreign cooperation in public administration. Unfortunately, this job did not give me the opportunity for professional and financial development. A little bit after, the need of the market, and a little bit because of my interests, I changed the industry to logistics and worked in different companies for 5 years.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">In the meantime, I realised that my current job is not something I want to do all my life. I decided to take a career break. My girlfriend and I decided that we wanted to travel the world for a while. The original one-year trip turned into three years of living out of a suitcase, during which we traveled through the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Before returning, I started thinking hard about what I could do. I was inspired by Ania, a colleague I met during my trip. She successfully changed her profession and started working in IT. I also started thinking about it. I was not completely fresh from the oven in the subject of programming, because in the old days, in high school, I used to learn PHP on my own. However, back then I couldn't imagine working as a programmer. I didn't think anyone would take me seriously without a degree.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I started learning Python before I even got the idea of attending a bootcamp. In the meantime, I found the Coders Lab on-site course in Poznan.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">There were moments when I felt pressured and overwhelmed by the material. Every day after class I spent 3-4 extra hours studying. On Wednesdays and Sundays, I took a break from coding. I didn't want to give up, but it was also important for me to have a balance with such an intensive learning mode.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">As a final project, I wrote an application that processed text based on an image of a receipt and created expense reports. I tried to use technologies that I would need in my work. After finishing the course, I felt satisfied, but I was also aware of how much learning is still ahead of me.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">From the middle of the course, I looked quite intensively for opportunities in the Poznań market. At the end of the course, I was at the stage of arranging recruitment interviews.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">In total, I took part in two recruitments, which I recall positively, although both experiences were extremely different from each other. The first thing that struck me was that IT recruitment is much more professional and the people who recruit you are not only able to assess your current skills but also your potential.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I found a job within 2 weeks of completing the course. I started at the company I was at for my second interview, it was my first choice though. I still work in Merixstudio - the second biggest Python software house in Poznan. The first two weeks were an introduction to the technologies used in the company. From the beginning, I could count on the support of the team leader and team members. After the implementation, I went straight to the project, which in the further phase I finished by myself.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">If I had continued to learn on my own, I would not have been able to change the industry in such a short time. On my own, I would not have been able to mobilize myself to code for several hours a day. When you learn on your own, you have a lot of materials to choose from, not always proven, which give you shreds of knowledge in different areas. The course gave me a clear direction.</span></p>

Bartosz Biskupski

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Dominik Buko</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I studied Chemical Technology at Poznan University of Technology - I worked in a laboratory. I was mainly involved in quality control of reagents, raw materials and products as well as learning new technologies in production.</span><br /><br /><span class="textContent-normal">I have been interested in programming since high school - but then I treated it as a hobby. At university I had a chance to participate in exhibitions, events (even the Android Developer Group exhibited at the Polytechnic) and lectures dedicated to programming - then I decided that this is what I want to do.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I made the decision to enroll in a course because learning on my own would take too long. I learned from courses, books, tutorials and did my own projects, but I still felt that it was terribly inefficient for the time I was spending - in addition, most tutorials offer simple, uncomplicated, small projects - I didn't get a chance to prove myself with something really substantial.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">What I liked most about the course at Coders Lab was the motivation to learn and the group that I still keep in touch with today. Also, one person from my course works with me in a team, and another person from a parallel course works in the same building as us. However, now I think that there were few issues that are basic in an interview for a job in Java, i.e. when to use which collections, what exactly the differences are. There was little time for Spring and I missed the recommendation of some great resources for future learning (and there are quite a few at the moment). However, at the beginning the amount is overwhelming and you don't know what to start with.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The final project was more of a pleasure than a challenge for me. I was finally able to realise ideas that I previously had no idea how to go about.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">After the course, I attended interviews, solved tests, including those on Codeity and Codewars, did sample questions from interviews. Each time I knew what I had to improve. I observed what are the trends in the current market and what is required from juniors.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The company that hired me also sent me to various training courses and expanded my course knowledge. There were trainings like "Clean Code", later "Clean Architecture", a lot of Pluralsight (design patterns, DevOps, Jenkins, etc.). But the basics from the course still remain, I use this knowledge often. The outline of all the skills learned during the course allowed me to easily know where to look.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I currently work for a small Polish corporation (about 500-600 people). It is a consulting company, dealing mainly with the implementation of insurance systems for companies. So I mainly program in Java and Gosu. I also have some conversations with clients - depending on what is needed :).</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Unfortunately, I have an impression that recently people started to look at people after intensive programming courses with hostility and stopped taking them seriously. Also, the level that is expected from juniors has increased a lot - often there are even offers requiring 2 years of commercial programming experience posted as a "junior" position. This has increased the amount of work you have to put in to find a job after the course.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Looking back on the course, 300 hours of learning seemed so much and now it's actually so little :). As of this year, I have already completed 150 hours of various courses, trainings and workshops, and there are still at least ten times as many ahead of me.</span></p>

<p>We&rsquo;ve sent you the handbook - check your mailbox</p>

Dominik Buko

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Anna Golasowska</span> about her career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I graduated from Cracow University of Technology and I've been working in my profession already from the 5th academic year. Architecture always appealed to me very much. I loved creating new things, and the very form of presenting them - drawing, creating visualizations, talking to people and meeting their needs, visiting construction sites. It was something I enjoyed. The only thing I didn't like was the nature of the job itself. The constantly nervous atmosphere, the lack of time, the deadlines for yesterday, which very often crept into mediocrity. Bureaucracy and paperwork were the order of the day. Tons of print-outs, which very often had to be reprinted and re-reprinted. I'm so glad I don't have to do that anymore.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The lack of development and repeating the same tasks over and over again made me realise that I was starting to regress. The architectural market is based on connections and doesn't appreciate ambitious people.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">It turned out that several people in my circle were working in IT. I started reading and taking an interest in what are the possible paths for people who had nothing to do with programming before.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I was well aware that a book like this would not be enough to change my industry. I needed a mentor who had a well-developed program and would have guided me through the most difficult moments of learning.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I met with my friends, Coders Lab graduates, who did the same course before me - JavaScript developer - and they told me how it all looks like. This convinced me that if I am going to do anything further, it will be with Coders Lab.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I took a residential course. The classes were very intensive, a lot of knowledge every day for 7 weeks.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">For about a month I struggled with the recruitment tasks, went to job fairs, interviews and finally succeeded. Only I know how many nights I was falling asleep and how many times I thought about the solutions I should use to finally make things work.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">It was a very difficult time. However, the most wonderful memory I have of this time is learning via FaceTime with my friend from the course. Every day we would meet in front of the monitors and online we would solve recruitment tasks and other tasks that we would come up with ourselves. It was fun working for a week together despite the distance between us.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I started working on a big application and learning Angular, which I hadn't used before. The atmosphere was great, everyone was willing to share knowledge. Unfortunately, the company closed two months after hiring me. I found another job within a week. But there was one condition - I had to move to Tricity. This has always been my dream, so I took the decision right away.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">In a small startup, which I found, I dealt mainly with creating the main page and writing applications in React. Unfortunately, history repeated itself here, after 2 months I had to look for another job. But this time too, I decided that this would not discourage me.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I must admit that it is a perfect place. I work in a team of several people, which deals with creating web services. Every day I learn a lot, I work on different projects, I cooperate with graphic designers and business people and I can use the help of experienced colleagues. I love my job. Every morning I get up and look forward to spending a nice 8 hours at work.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">A week ago I visited my colleague with whom we were learning together online after the course. It was fun to reminisce about those hard 1.5 years. We unanimously agreed that it was the best decision and the whole change would not have happened without Coders Lab.</span></p>

Anna Golasowska

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Ewelina Sierżańska</span> about her career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Everything changed when I decided to start my own online shop. It was a very complex project. Order forms, product pages, photo previews - after all, every element of the shop had to work perfectly. As you know, in small businesses the owner has to know everything.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The shop was largely based on very repetitive tasks. Testing was different - each new functionality required a completely different perspective. Improving, refining and developing the site became my passion.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I decided to broaden my experience with shop testing with theoretical knowledge and complete the Manual Tester course at Coders Lab school. I chose to do the course remotely, as onsite courses were not available in my city.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">It certainly required a lot of self-motivation and regularity to complete the course, as a large part of it was based on my own work. SQL was a bit of a challenge for me, as it was the first time I had encountered it during the course. I was positively surprised by the activities with the group and the lecturers. They were not just listening but took the form of workshops in which the students actively participated.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The lecturer' job search advice was also a super bonus. Their tips made me go into a job interview much calmer.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">At the moment I work for a company that implements IT projects for a foreign partner. I test both websites and mobile applications. This job gives me a lot of satisfaction - I learn something new every day.</span></p>

Ewelina Sierżańska

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<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Stanisław Gregor</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I always wanted to be a programmer. This was also the thought that guided me when I chose to study computer science at Warsaw University of Life Sciences. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the studies looked completely different than I have imagined.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">One day, while sitting in the lecture hall, I started to think that this was not at all what I was looking for and expecting. I started wondering what other path I could take and then I remembered about programming schools. At that point, I didn't know much more that they existed and worked.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The decision was very difficult, but at the same time it seemed to be the best option for me at that moment. I did not want to give up my dream of working in IT.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course proved to be a very friendly place to learn. The program was comprehensive and thoroughly prepared, and the pace of work, despite the intensity, was just right for me. In addition, I have very fond memories of the teachers, who were mostly competent both in terms of content and pedagogy.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The job search process was very difficult for me, also mentally. From the end of the course (end of February 2018) until about mid-May, I went through almost 20 full recruitment processes. This included companies located in Italy, the Netherlands and the UK and all decided to hire a candidate with more experience. Eventually, I found a job on a recommendation at a creative agency.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently working as a front-end developer in a creative agency. I am responsible for coding pages designed by our graphic designer. I program both static pages and views intended for later implementation in CMS, e.g. WordPress.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I like or even love my job. It seems to me that I am in the right place in the world, that I found what I was looking for. The only thing that spoils this impression is the unstructured, inaccurate and ASAP-based nature of the work, which I'm now trying to escape from at all costs. I dream about a real software house, where I will be able to devote enough time to develop my projects.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Firstly, I wouldn't have chosen to take on the challenge of learning individually. In hindsight, I know that reaching my current level would have been possible on my own, but at the time I made the decision to drop out of university, I didn't think I would have been able to train on my own. Coders Lab allowed me to take the first step towards achieving my dreams.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Secondly, I interacted with beginners who were trying to learn everything on their own. In such encounters, I ALWAYS see that Coders Lab gave me a much better foundation than they worked out on their own.</span></p>

Stanisław Gregor

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<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Urszula Duda</span> about her career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I was inspired by programming in my previous job. My contact with technology started with my studies at the Technical University, majoring in Environmental Engineering. I suspended my studies and started working in a technical documentation translation office as a Project Manager.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">We mainly worked for the energy industry, but there were also IT projects.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The first such project was the implementation of an internal management system. I had to conduct a business analysis of this system. At that time I also started to look at systems from a programming perspective and wondered whether our ideas were technologically feasible. That's when I thought that the programming profession was something for me.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I didn't know what technology to choose yet. I really like creating and seeing the results of my work, so at the beginning, I tried to learn the front-end by myself for 3-4 months. However, I was not satisfied with the results. Sometimes this learning was problematic, because I could get stuck on one loop for a week. Then there was a lot of doubt as to whether this was really for me.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I liked the concise structure of the course. Not only did I get access to a huge amount of knowledge during the course, but above all, I learned which direction to take. Despite the availability of various materials on the Internet, if I had continued to learn on my own, I would not have been able to learn as effectively as I did on the course.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">During these two months, you form a small community together with your mentor, the lecturers and the people in the group. There is always someone to help you, and the atmosphere on the course is also extremely motivating.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I had a crisis in the third week. I had become unaccustomed to such intensive learning and it was temporary fatigue of the material. My fantastic group then told me to just sit down and write with them. At times like that you just have to grit your teeth and keep moving forward.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I remember my mentor with great fondness. She was always helpful, during the course as well as after completing it. Coders Lab has very inspiring professionals, with experience from real work. I think it's the attitude of the lecturers that helps you remember in tough moments that you can do it.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal"><strong>As a final project, I created a neighbourhood help app - sort of a shopping Uber for neighbours. </strong>I wrote it entirely in React. Are you a neighbour? Imagine you're going shopping and you see "Maciek from 36th Street needs sugar, I'll take the sugar for him". You take the order on yourself, you buy and take it, and the settlement happens outside the application. I live in Białołęka and going to the shop was a real expedition. This app was born out of a real need.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">My future boss was present at my group's final project presentation. He liked my project so much that I got a call the very next week. The recruitment process consisted of two stages. I was given a theoretical briefing and then a recruitment task. 2 days after submitting the task I was asked if I could come to work tomorrow.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The most fun I have in programming is the moment when I solve a problem without help - without stack overflow or team support. The moment when you have to come up with the solution yourself is the real icing on the cake.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">In my short career I have already released 2 applications: one web application and one native application in React.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">In the company, I have been learning new technologies from the beginning. I started writing in Vue.js and React Native right away. What gives me great satisfaction now is the ease of switching between technologies. In fact, I need a few days to get into a new syntax. I am well aware that this is due to my coursework.</span></p>

Urszula Duda

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Marek Michałowski</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">My job was to drill boreholes in the field for all kinds of construction projects and to prepare documentation related to the parameters of the tested soil. Unfortunately, the work involved a lot of travelling all over Poland and I was rarely at home. The pay in relation to the work performed was not satisfactory either.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Despite these doubts, I broke through and did some online JavaScript courses, after which I decided that this could be it. I started looking around for courses and decided on Coders Lab school.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The huge amount of information sometimes gave me a panic attack, but after controlling my emotions and analyzing the material, I started to develop regularity. The daily homework also had a positive impact on learning and consolidating the material.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The introduction of a friendly and relaxed atmosphere also had a positive impact on the course. I think that switching from one programming language library to another was a big problem. Sometimes learned "tricks" simply did not work and you had to learn other forms of implementation.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Immediately after the course I was confronted with reality while looking for a job. I had a lot of interviews and only got my first job after 4 months.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">If someone is motivated enough to change something in their life they will always achieve it. From now on, work is a pleasure and not just an obligation.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">In my work I use the skills acquired during the course, mainly the JavaScript language. I modify e-learning courses - I introduce graphic changes, additional interactions on the slides, modifications to the course logic. Recently, I became interested in creating games and learning a new programming language - GDscript (similar to Python), which is used by the GODOT platform.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">Continuous development in the IT industry makes the work more enjoyable and challenging.</span></p>

Marek Michałowski

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Maciej Matejko</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Everyone started somewhere. My beginnings were as a salesman in sports shops. Later I was employed by Orange, where I worked on the technical hotline. After some time I managed to get promoted to the Internal Communication Department and that is how my adventure with marketing in the broadest sense of the word began. After the earlier turbulence with my studies, I decided to study part-time Marketing and Management, purely with a view to professional work.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">After leaving Orange, I continued to work in marketing and managed a customer service team. Nothing to do with programming, although in Orange I did occasionally create various types of offer calculators in Excel.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">For a long time, my work did not give me satisfaction. This was compounded by problems after moving from Warsaw. In my region, it was difficult to find a job for someone with my experience and skills. I decided that if I had to suffer the daily commute to the capital, at least for a job that was interesting and well paid. I also secretly hoped for the possibility of remote work.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The decision was certainly not an easy one, I was thinking for a long time. Without the support of my wife, I certainly would not have decided, because I lacked self-confidence and I was not entirely convinced that I would actually find a job after the course.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I have an unequivocally positive opinion of the course. The greatest challenge was the intensity of the learning, even though mentally I was prepared for a tough crossing. It seems to me that I have never worked so hard in my life. The fact that for those few weeks you have to forget about everything except learning can be overwhelming.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Thanks to good results on the course and courtesy of Coders Lab, I started the job search process with a few interviews with companies friendly to the school. This allowed me to see how recruitment in IT looks like and to approach it in a fairly relaxed manner.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I continued my search normally, through various advertisements on job portals, and a nice profile on LinkedIn also helped. I started looking for a job in July, right in the middle of the holiday period, which didn't stop me from finding one after two months of searching.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I work for a company that provides its sales platform to companies with small to medium-sized files. I maintain and develop the platform and implement new clients. The work is interesting, there are some demanding tasks, such as synchronizing the shop with a Dutch online payment system while having Dutch-English documentation ;).</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I improved my PHP and JavaScript skills, I had a chance to look into shop synchronization with such platforms as Allegro or Ceneo. I also got the opportunity to work remotely, which I dreamed of, and I have been continuously working as a programmer for almost 3 years now.</span></p>

Maciej Matejko

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Marcin Sola</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">Not long before I decided to start the course, I dropped out of university. It was my second attempt at university. The first time, right after high school graduation, I went to Szczecin to study construction.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">At the beginning of the second year, I made the decision to drop out and returned to my hometown. After a year's break, I made a second attempt. This time it was cognitive science at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. History has come full circle - in the second year of studies, I went on dean's leave from which I never came back ;).</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course itself was incredibly interesting, but I did not see the practical application of this education in the job market. From what I see on social media, most of my fellow cognitive scientists ended up in IT after graduation anyway (most as UX designers), so you could say I took a shortcut by deciding to take the course.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">In the meantime, I worked as a bartender. First in a club, then in one of the shot bars in the old market square. Contrary to appearances, you can earn decent money in such a job, from the very beginning I was able to support myself by combining studies with a night job. Generally speaking, I liked working behind the bar. The world of gastronomy is quite specific - in a positive sense.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">But after some time I started to get fed up with the nightlife, lack of free weekends and not always polite and friendly customers...</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The thought of learning to program had already crossed my mind in the past, but I never took the time to get to know the subject and see how it looks in practice. This time I decided to give it a try. I found free materials at the beginning and it turned out that it was quite easy for me. Programming gave me pleasure. Now, in retrospect, I see how little I knew at that time, but still, I felt that I could do it professionally.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">After the free materials came the turn to paid e-learning platforms, with much more extensive tutorials and tasks to do on your own.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Nevertheless, I was afraid to take the risk of attending a course because back then (2016) there were not so many reviews from graduates, so it was much harder to decide which offer would be the best. It fell on Coders Lab and I don't regret my choice.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">Super mentors who wrote back at any time of day or night, patiently explained everything and did not leave anyone without answers to their questions. I also have very fond memories of the atmosphere in the group. All in all, it's hard for me to find something I didn't like.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">After the course, one of the partner companies contacted me and invited me for a job interview. In the meantime, at one of the meetups organized in Poznań, I got in touch with another company, which later invited me for a job interview. Eventually, I chose this second company. This all happened about a month after the course ended.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently working in yet another company. We are developing software that allows us to set up shops for online printers. It is quite an extensive project, around which we are constantly developing additional functionalities and side projects for the internal needs of the team. There is a lot going on, so finally, I do not complain about the lack of challenges.</span></p>

Marcin Sola

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Jarek Kurek</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I first started my studies at the Technical University. I dropped out in my final year because I started a family and started a job that took up a lot of time and energy. Since the beginning of my professional activity, I have been a salesman. For the last five years, I have travelled a lot. Because of this, I was often not at home, which at some point became very tiring for both my family and me.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal"><strong>A friend of mine, who has been working in the testing industry for more than four years now, was a solid motivation to sign up for the Manual Tester course.</strong> I watched his journey up from junior level.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course in Coders Lab gave me extensive, well-organized and substantive knowledge, which is needed and valued in the labour market. The weekend course is undoubtedly an intensive learning period, but it takes place in a friendly atmosphere. The material is discussed in an accessible way. At the end of the day's class, each of us felt that we knew what we were doing.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal"><strong>During the classes, the lecturers also gave us advice </strong>and shared their experiences from work. Contact with them was a crucial lesson for me.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">In addition, among the other course participants, I found friends "from the industry". We became good friends and even after the course we are still in contact with each other. During the course, we helped each other and often worked in groups.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I found my first job even before completing the course. I started looking for it at the halfway point of the course so that by the last session at Coders Lab I'd already have secured employment.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I am currently working as a tester. The knowledge I gained during the course allowed me to start working very quickly. <strong>My supervisor values Coders Lab graduates very much. That is why he was looking for candidates among them for the following testing team members.</strong></span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I would recommend the Manual Tester course to anyone who wants to gain hard skills appreciated on the job market. It is an idea for anyone who does not know what they want to do in professional life or wants to do something different than before. The course was a great adventure for me, and it opened doors to the IT world.</span></p>

Jarek Kurek

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<h1 style="margin-top: 0; font-weight: bold;">Decode<span style="color: #faba20; font-weight: bold;"> your</span> power</h1>
<h2><span class="textContent-lg">Graduate <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #faba20;">Mateusz Durmaj</span> about his career change</span></h2>
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<p><span class="textContent-normal">I have worked as a journalist since the beginning of my studies. I created radio news services, co-hosted an automotive programme and participated in the creation of popular science programmes in one of the biggest TV stations. I worked in this job for 7 years and I think it was a very good experience during which I met many interesting people and learned how many fantastic manufacturing companies we have in Poland.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">I also co-managed automotive portals, which were based on WordPress or dedicated CMS systems. That's when I modified WP templates myself, to a basic extent.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal">The next stage of my career was as a marketing and PR person in a Polish company, which was developing its own sports car. I was a member of the team during the preparation of prototypes of cars in road and track versions. I was heavily involved in research and development activities, which to a large extent coincided with my automotive passion. It is worth mentioning that the electronics and mechatronics of this car were developed by Polish engineers. I was very impressed by the low-level programming of the controllers and this was one of the impulses that pushed me in the direction of re-branding.</span></p>
<p><span class="textContent-normal"><strong>I was asking my colleagues what to begin with when it comes to learning, what language to choose and we very reasonably came to the conclusion that there still will be time for C++, and that web development would be a good place to start ;).</strong></span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I went through basic PHP and Python courses on my own. Unfortunately, the effects were poor and learning "after hours" caused many problems with motivation. The lack of contact with the teacher further prolonged these courses by the time I searched for information on issues that were unclear to me.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The course at Coders Lab gave me exactly what I expected. During two months of intensive learning, I understood what programming is about, how to do it well and solve the problems I encountered, and what to learn next. I can describe it as a solid introduction, a foundation for dealing with coding professionally. Of course, for this to be possible, it is essential to be fully committed and find a passion for programming, otherwise, it makes no sense.</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">The lecturers dispelled all doubts on an ongoing basis and explained all issues included in the course programme in a very accessible way. I appreciated the individual approach to each of the students and the emphasis on independence in completing tasks. During the course, the day was a bit too short for me...</span></p>

<p><span class="textContent-normal">I knew how to prepare for it and what to pay attention to. After the course I looked for a job on my own, and after a few interviews, I was hired by UX UI studio from Warsaw, which also has a development department. I have been working there for over a year now. I deal with backend development for emerging websites. This involves creating CMS, integration with all kinds of API, creating plug-ins for sales platforms, or writing scripts to perform operations on large databases. We have a cool, close-knit team and because of the company profile, I'm constantly exposed to fresh and thoughtful UX and UI solutions.</span></p>

Mateusz Durmaj

I don't know yet

Online

Poznan

Katowice

Wroclaw

Cracow

Warsaw

<p>Coders Lab is a modern IT school that allows you to quickly change your profession and effectively expand your digital competences. It focuses on the transfer of practical skills that are primarily useful for employers. It organizes both intensive web technology courses (e.g. JavaScript, Python, Java) as well as professional courses Manual Tester, Automated Tester or SEO Specialist.</p>
<p>Want to get to know us better? Get in touch and come over for a coffee.</p>