Bence Koncz

Where did you hear about Tech Academy?

I've been following The IT Solutions on LinkedIn for a while, and that's where I found Tech Academy.

Why did you apply for the Tech Academy?

It was a perfect opportunity to expand my professional knowledge and learn about new technologies, so I applied almost immediately.

How did the Tech Academy start?

After a few email exchanges, things quickly picked up. First, I received the test assignment. I could choose to do frontend or backend tasks. I opted for the backend task and had two weeks to do it. Shortly after completing the test task, I received another email with the good news that I was one of the lucky ones to participate in Tech Academy. The training started in late October last year and ran until this March.

Have you ever studied software development?

Yes, I have. I'm currently a final-year student of Computer Science at the Faculty of Informatics at the University of Debrecen, so I was excited to start this course.

How was it working with your mentor?

Working with my mentor was very smooth. We usually met in person once a week in the office to discuss current issues and problems with the project. Otherwise, we were in daily online contact, so if I got stuck on something, I could get quick help from him.

What did you like most, and what new things did you learn at Tech Academy?

I liked that I got to go into the office and see a little bit of the inside of how a software development company works. The other thing is that I learned a lot. I improved my knowledge of Spring Boot and also learned about new technologies. One of these was Docker.

How will you use the knowledge you have gained? What are your plans for the future?

I feel that the Tech Academy was a good choice, as I have gained a lot of useful knowledge in the last few months. I will be able to use all of this in my future job. I want to expand my Java backend knowledge even more because that's what I want to do in the future.

Andrea Kis-Lődár

Where did you hear about Tech Academy?

I came across the Tech Academy in a LinkedIn post, which appealed to me at first, but I wondered whether I should take it up or not, as I had never participated in a similar program before. I didn't know what to expect, to be honest.

Did you have any previous training?

I studied Computer Science in high school, where I learned the basics of HTML and CSS. But after high school, I continued my studies in a different direction, at the University of Debrecen, Faculty of Economics, where I graduated as an economist. Later, I took a web design course, where I honed my HTML and CSS skills and was introduced to the Bootstrap framework. This course was good not only because it gave me new skills but also because it was here that I started to get interested in frontend development and where I realized that I had a knack for it.

Why did you apply for Tech Academy?

I wanted to improve the skills I had already acquired, and I felt Tech Academy was a superb opportunity for this. I was looking for a training program with a clear and transparent structure. I think the advantage of the Tech Academy over self-study was that it gave a defined system with appropriate deadlines. I needed to have a mentor for the assignments and continuous feedback on my work.

How long did the Tech Academy last?

The Tech Academy lasted for three months and involved an average of 20 hours per week, which included office work one day per week.

How was it working with your mentor?

I can only say positive things about working with him. He was helpful, and I learned a lot. We took the project very seriously and worked on it as if it was a real company project. We had standup meetings online on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and talked about how the project was going and the parts I was stuck on. The project was to create a web application for a dog school.

What did you learn? What was the most useful part of the training?

As I had no previous training in this area, I had to start from the ground up, so I learned a lot of theory, especially at the beginning of the Tech Academy. It was very useful to learn about several technologies and try them out in practice during the training, as well as to discuss best practices with the mentor.

What are your plans for the future?

I did not stop studying when Tech Academy ended. I'm still learning. I'm working on a new project where I think I can gain more routine in the technologies I've learned. Soon, I would like to get a job as a frontend developer, and I'm looking forward to putting the theoretical and practical knowledge I have gained to good use.

Ádám Dorogi

Where did you hear about Tech Academy?

I first heard about it on The IT Professional Days at the University of Debrecen, and later my friend who works at The IT Solutions shared a post about it on Facebook.

Why did you apply for Tech Academy?

I felt that I was completely stuck in my professional studies and needed a direction in which I could progress.

Did you have any previous qualifications?

I had minimal knowledge of Java, which I learned during my university studies. I have never participated in a program like this before.

How was it working with your mentor?

Very good. He was always available and didn't spare me. He gave me a lot of tasks, but of course, he also helped me when I got stuck.

What project did you work on? What did you learn?

I worked on an almost complete backend implementation of a dog school. It's hard to list how much I've learned. My knowledge of Java has improved, such as in Git, Jira, Gradle, Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, Docker, and Postman.

What did you like the most?

Beyond the learning, I think the best thing was that everyone at The IT Solutions treated me as if I worked there, and I had the opportunity to gain insight into the day-to-day life of a software development company. It was pretty cool.

What did you like about the training?

For me the whole training was useful, it's hard to single out one thing. I was able to hone my Java skills further, and of course, I could learn about other technologies.

How will you use the knowledge you have gained? What are your plans for the future?

First, I want to finish my studies at the university and then complete the junior recruitment task at The IT Solutions. If there is vacancy, I would love to work at the company. If that is not possible, I hope to find a job soon where I can use what I have learned. I am confident that the knowledge I have gained at the Tech Academy will help me to find a job in the labor market.