# career opportunities in IT, # tips and tricks for making IT, # how to get started in IT as a junior… These are some of the most researched topics when it comes to IT careers. Whether you are a graduate or just started college, everybody has different reasons to pursue a career in the IT industry. With this niche growing at a fast pace, it is no wonder that so many inquiries circle around methods and tips that could get your foot in the door, so to speak.
And as it happens, there are serious reasons why IT jobs are sought. This industry is viewed as a niche that offers jobs with great benefits, a flexible schedule that allows for the completion of studies, and lots of opportunities for growth. But does expectation meet reality for juniors in IT? More so, can expectations be met right here, in Sibiu?
In this new article from our series Start Smart in Your IT Career, we want you to discover the story of Teo and Dan, both of whom have become part of our team, after signing up for Ropardo’s programs for students. Their stories may help you better understand how to approach this industry, where to start, and how to accelerate your growth. But they will also serve to show if expectations can meet reality for Juniors in IT.
Meet Teo: “My 1st real and serious job in IT helped me grow at a fast pace.”
Seeking an opportunity to crush IT as a 20-year-old student doesn’t mean ignoring your studies or abandoning them. Our colleague, Teo, is the perfect example that you can get the benefits a job in IT offers while completing your studies. We clicked with Teo during a meet-up that we held at the Faculty of Engineering from ULBS. He was interested in our programs for students, so he took the first step and applied. His application caught our eye, so he was invited to both a discovery discussion and a technical interview and since everything went so well, he entered our internship. Since then, Teo has just entered his Year 4 studying Computers and has been part of our team, being involved in different projects Ropardo develops.
“I’ve always liked studying mathematics, and as a kid, I enjoyed playing video games. So it was no wonder for those that knew me, that I will seek an IT career. When the opportunity to start a junior program with Ropardo was presented to me, I just took it. I didn’t feel pressured to choose my work over my studies, on the contrary. The flexible hours allowed me to study as hard as I did before, even improving my grades and succeeding in obtaining a scholarship.”
Teo, 20 years old
The thought of obtaining a job at a big corporation was one that crossed Teo’s mind at some point. He says that he is happy he didn’t follow that path though, as the freedom he enjoys right now would probably be something he wouldn’t have if he tried to climb the corporate ladder. So, what other perks does a student have if he starts to pursue a career in IT very early on? As Teo says:
- Working hands-on alongside seniors on different projects and learning to manage important technologies like Quasar, Spring Boot, or Java
- Having a mentor that offers feedback and resources for learning, based on the challenges that the intern meets on the job
- Enjoying the benefits of paid work and a flexible schedule that allows and encourages the pursuit of a formal education
During our discussion for this article, Teo also pointed out what a big difference working hands-on in IT has made. As it happens, many juniors feel that some of the things they study in school may not apply to a real job and it is something that Dan has also pointed out.
Meet Dan: “During your studies, you are not aware of all the things you should know, and don’t”
In 2017, at only 22 years old, Dan was seeking an IT company with whom he could intern. He found out about us from a colleague and became curious. So he too applied for an internship and 5 years later…he is still part of our team!
“When I interned there wasn’t this hype around the IT industry that you can see right now. I was curious though to try out with a company that I’ve heard had international projects. I interned for 6 months and studied different languages for programming. During those months I’ve learned things that I still use in my job right now at Ropardo: how to correctly write the lines of code, how to arrange it… things that you don’t hear about nor study in school, but are crucial on the job”.
Dan, 27 years old
Similar to Teo, Dan too studied at ULBS and expected a gap between juniors and seniors. This was one of the things that didn’t meet his expectation at Ropardo, since seniors worked closely with juniors, helping and encouraging them to ask as many questions as they needed.
“There was a “NO bad question” policy put in place at Ropardo that we still have and that helped me a lot. I felt confident enough to often ask questions and this made me feel that during my internship I’ve learned what I never could in 4 years of faculty. During your studies you are not aware of your blind spots, you just don’t know that there are things you should know, but you just don’t know them.”
Dan, 27 years old
Dan also liked that he had benefits such as:
- being able to enter a specialised training (“At Ropardo if the members of the team point out that we need a new training for a special coding programming then the company hears us out and organises such a training”)
- doing CSR (Dan has been part of our CSR programs and has helped during events such as Infoliceanul, an experience he highly recommends)
- becoming part of the team very early on and bridging the gap that usually exists between seniors and juniors, thus accelerating the learning process
- getting paid for your work while also enjoying a flexible schedule and receiving encouragement to finish your studies
Since he first interned, Dan has been part of our team, developing projects in niches such as health, social care, or insurance. He strongly recommends interning with a company that offers such opportunities, if you want to crush IT.
“The truth is that during faculty, you get to learn too little of what you will have to do on the job. Alas when you intern for 5 or 6 months, you learn things that you will use and you get to test the knowledge you accumulated during your studies”, says Dan.
All in all, we can agree that the best way to see for yourselves if your expectations meet reality in the IT industry is to apply for one of the youth programs and continue from there.
Let’s not forget that a junior’s main challenge is to learn the technology. We’ve developed our internships to allow you to do exactly that, while also enjoying your time spent in an open-minded team!
Find out more about our short-term or long-term opportunities right now.