Denis Gosa, C++ graduate: "I no longer had to go through a technical test to get hired"

He got his first computer at age 7. "A huge monitor with a cathode-ray tube", which he could never forget later on, was about to shape his passion. Three years later, he was taking apart a computer. Simply: to see how it works. It was never in working order again, once the parts were put back together, but today, when moments like these are brought together, he realizes the role they played. Those first encounters with technology were to guide his steps, 15 years later. Meet Denis Gosa: the one who had – at age 7 – a Pentium 2, and who has – at age 25 – a career in IT. In short.

Behind the scenes, though, he talks about a process of "reinvention", which hides work and dedication, effort outside his comfort zone. Even with a full-time job in construction, "from 9 to 5", he learned to write his first line of code in C++, the one that changed his present. And his future. He chose to tell everyone about everything that happened at the Informal School of IT  and about how he changed his life.

"Since I was 7, I knew that, at some point, I'd end up in IT"

1. What was the moment when you decided to change your professional field?

I initially worked in construction, but the thought of a career change had been on my mind for a long time. I didn't know exactly how I'd do it, especially since I also had a full-time job, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  The moment I made the decision was when I happened to see an ad on Facebook. It was from the Informal School of IT. I enrolled in the C++ course. Since I was 7, when I got my first computer, I knew that – at some point – I'd end up in IT. My experience at the Informal School of IT helped me fulfill my dream.

1. If you had to make a top 3 of the most important things you learned at the Informal School of IT, it would be…

• You can change your professional field 100%, without any prior IT knowledge. Everything can be learned.
• The experience of the mentors, of those who have already been working in the industry for many years, is indispensable. It's information you won't find in an online course or a book.
• There's no single way to solve a problem. Not in life, and not in IT either, where the solution is up to the programmer.

1. In simple terms, understandable to everyone, what does it mean to write a line of code in C++?

Writing code in C++ is comparable to solving some ordinary problem in everyday life. The process is the same. All you need to know in addition is the programming syntax.

1. What do you think are the skills you need, at the start, to learn this programming language?

I think you need motivation. I noticed that both my classmates and I had minimal knowledge of C++, we were at the same level. The difference was made by the motivation to learn new things, out of passion.

An unforgettable moment: "No error detected" and information you'll never find in books

1. From the course sessions, you especially remember…

…the moment when we managed to shape a program according to the ideas we had, us students, and –  of course  – I remember that "No error detected" moment.

1. How were the mentors?

The contribution of the mentors is indispensable. Their experience and personal examples provide very useful information that you won't find in any book, in any online course. At the Informal School of IT, besides everything covered in the curriculum, there's something extra. Examples from the mentors' experience. Those DOs and DON'Ts  proved useful for writing a program efficiently.

"Thanks to the progress I made, I no longer had to go through a technical test to get hired"

1. Tell us about the job interview.

The job interview was "informal" too; I noticed that this is the trend in the IT field. Being recommended by the Informal School of IT, following the results I got in the course, made everything very simple. I no longer had to take a technical test, once the employer saw the results showing my progress during the course and the final project.

1. How has your life changed?

Today I'm employed at an IT company from Timișoara, headquartered in Germany, as a result of graduating from the C++ course. It's a major change for the better compared to any other job I had in the past. Stress at the workplace is minimal and I feel much more fulfilled professionally.

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