On May 5-6, Lviv IT Cluster held its second IT Future Conf, a career guidance conference for teachers, high school students, graduates, and anyone interested in education in tech. Over 4,000 participants took part in the event. For two days, experts from tech companies that are members of the Lviv IT Cluster talked about the most popular fields in tech and educational institutions where one can acquire tech education.
According to the Lviv IT Cluster’s survey, 66% of teenagers dream of working in tech: they actively explore the industry, learn programming languages on their own, show interest in specialized courses, and inquire about how Artificial Intelligence will change the world in the next decade. They do everything to be able to enter the tech world in a few years and shake it up with their ideas and developments.
We have selected the ten most exciting questions that students asked during the IT Future Conf 2023. Some of the answers will be helpful for adults willing to get into the industry as well.
Artem Kurtiak, an eleventh-grader who has been working as a Full Stack Developer for the past two years:
“I became interested in tech at an early age. At first, I just watched various thematic videos. Then I learned Python and Javascript. I sent CVs when I realized that my skills were sufficient for real work. Many companies refused because of my age. But there was a company that agreed to hire me. That’s why it’s important to be persistent, constantly learn, follow trends, and not deviate from your goal.”
Kateryna Ivanova, Learning & Development Manager at Brainstack_:
“You can start a career in tech with simple positions. For example, a Customer Care Manager is a specialist who answers customer questions and inquiries about the company’s products or services. It is a starting position that requires good knowledge of English and the ability to learn quickly. When choosing a candidate, we pay attention to communication skills, stress resistance, willingness to solve problems, ability to react quickly, explain complex things in simple words, multitasking, independence, and a desire to develop.”
Roman Kuzio, Frontend Ambassador, LinkUp Studio:
“Formal education, like university education, is essential because it provides a foundation you will build further. You learn to think outside the box and develop logic. I work in Frontend, and logic is crucial in this field. Later on, this also gave me an understanding of where to move. At first, I liked to design websites, but as I delved deeper into the profession, I realized that working with its logic was much more interesting. Therefore, school and university provide a good foundation that can lay the groundwork for your professional path.”
Andriy Bilous, DevOps Community Lead, Newfire Global Partners:
“I think that AI will only partially replace a specialist therefore it’s important to know the basics and understand how things work. AI can generate content and provide some suggestions. Shortly, Artificial Intelligence will lead to more automation of routine processes. But it won’t be able to completely replace a programmer who has creative, non-standard thinking, and good expertise.”
Olesya Korman, Middle Experience Designer, ELEKS:
“Such situations happen quite often, and it’s normal. In these cases, it’s essential to seek a compromise. It’s important to listen to the customer to understand their point of view and agree on whether we can sacrifice a certain functionality. User testing is beneficial in UX design in such situations. Often, it convinces the user that your decision is useful and meets their needs. Always rely on facts to convey your opinion correctly.”
Maria Stadnyk, Senior Project Manager, Avenga:
“In general, we all procrastinate from time to time. For a PM, it is important to find the reason for the employee’s reluctance to work and help solve this problem to support such an employee. If the reason is laziness, a clearly defined deadline and reminders about it can help. Burnout is a slightly more difficult situation. It is important to communicate with such an employee, find the reason, and help to solve it if possible. If a person is prone to burnout in your team, it is important to consider this when planning work on the project.”
Maksym Prymierov, Strong Middle Embedded Engineer, Intellias:
“Embedded systems will not just be relevant. They are already being used, for example, in drones. They are essentially embedded developments. In reconstruction, drones that demine fields will be very relevant. It will save the lives of many sappers. In addition, embedded systems will continue to be applied in other important industries such as industrial automation and various monitoring systems.”
Andriy Balyk, Product Manager at SoftServe:
“The role of an analyst in tech is to identify problems and find solutions to them. Now is the perfect time to start a career in this profession. To be a good analyst, it is important to have the following:
- Analytical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Flexibility and motivation
- Continuous learning and understanding of the industry
- Technological knowledge to understand the latest tech trends.”
Daria Prylipko, Head of Sales at Perpetio, says:
“Markets can be very different, with their peculiarities and differences. There are markets where it is difficult to work, such as those with a different mentality, such as Arab countries. Therefore, we do not currently target markets that are completely unknown to us but instead, focus and further explore those where the process is already established. In addition, a good IT Sales Manager must be technically knowledgeable and interested in their work. They should also understand the client’s problem and provide maximum assistance.”
Andriy Kuzminskyi, Senior Experience Designer, ELEKS:
“The purpose of a test task for a beginner is to identify their strengths, thinking process, basic technical knowledge, and understand the foundation of their knowledge. For example, a test task in design may look like a task to redesign or improve an existing website. It will determine whether the candidate understands and sees what needs improvement. Such a test task will provide an understanding of the type of thinking and approach to problem-solving in the candidate.”
During the IT Future Conf 2023, a MacBook giveaway was held and a ninth-grader from Lviv named Vadym Ratushniak became the winner. All participants will receive certificates for attending the conference. With the support of the Center for Professional Development of Pedagogical Workers and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, teachers who participated in the IT Future Conf will also receive certificates.
The video recording of the IT Future Conf 2023 conference can be viewed for free on the IT Future page on YouTube in the “Live” section.
The partners of IT Future Conf 2023 are: Intellias, Linkup Studio, Brainstack_, SFox, and Education and Technology (NIT). The media partners of the event were Speka and pedan | education.
On May 5-6, Lviv IT Cluster held its second IT Future Conf, a career guidance conference for teachers, high school students, graduates, and anyone interested in education in tech. Over 4,000 participants took part in the event. For two days, experts from tech companies that are members of the Lviv IT Cluster talked about the […]
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