Making a career change can be intimidating, but for Amit Bar-Gil, a graduate of the TripleTen program, it was a chance to pursue his passion for web development. We caught up with Amit for a heart-to-heart about his experience with TripleTen that took him from pizza making to web building in just one year.
Flexible and Asynchronous Learning with TripleTen
Today, Amit works as a Software Developer at City Systems developing full-stack applications for municipalities, local authorities, and local councils. But just some time ago, he was a regular pizza boy trying to earn some pocket money after 3 years of military service.
"I was a full-stack pizza developer," he joked, “doing everything from delivering pizzas to cooking”.
But he knew that his passion lay elsewhere, so he enrolled in the TripleTen program, drawn by its flexible hours, curriculum, and the fact that the course was taught in English.
"The main reason I chose TripleTen was that I could continue working at my day job while studying for the course on my own time," he shared.
Not knowing much besides HTML, Amit found his new journey into web development quite challenging yet exciting: “It was pretty hard, but when you grasp the idea of ‘technical’ you realize it is all the same thing with a different interface.” Amit's journey with TripleTen began with the basics, but by the third project, he found himself struggling to grasp the concepts.
"I was terrified," he admitted. "The CSS part was the hardest for me, but then something clicked, and I started to develop an intuition for how a website should look." Despite the challenges, Amit found the overall experience to be great. "I love the idea of asynchronous learning," Amit shared. "With TripleTen's platform, I was able to learn whenever and wherever I wanted. I was learning the most critical tool: the ability to open a browser and learn anything I wanted," he said smiling.
In moments of struggle, Youtube motivational videos for programmers pushed Amit forward. However, no one could provide a better-helping hand than fellow program students. One of the surprising benefits of TripleTen was the sense of community that Amit found.
"We are still in the WhatsApp group and planning a night out!" he shared. "It's a small community, and we mainly helped each other by asking questions and looking for answers together. We supported each other through memes and laughs when we felt down."
Life After TripleTen
Amit began looking for jobs one and a half months before the final project. Finding it hard to stand out among other junior developers on LinkedIn, Amit decided to try some alternative ways of looking for relevant positions by reaching out to family and friends. As luck would have it, he didn't have to look far. One day, while having a casual conversation with a friend from a pizzeria, he discussed his program experience and the skills he had learned at TripleTen. To his surprise, he discovered that his friend's father was in need of a new developer with expertise in React.
"The day after, I was having a cellphone interview with the leading developer, and he asked me some technical questions. After that, I had a test and another interview with the CTO, who looked at my projects from TripleTen and asked questions about them, checking that I really did understand what I was talking about. The confidence that I showed was very helpful," says Amit.
Amit advises job seekers to be selective about the companies they apply to. He warns against companies that challenge candidates in unrealistic environments, as they won’t provide a good work experience. Instead, Amit suggests looking for a company that values understanding concepts over memorizing syntax. Sometimes, understanding how things work might be even more crucial than just giving the right answer.
Amit also highlights the importance of considering the company’s size. He notes that there is a big difference between working for a huge company, where one’s role may feel like a tiny screw in a big machine, and a small company, where the areas of responsibility are far broader. Amit, who currently works in a small team with only three employees, feels like an essential tool in his workplace. He finds his job far more challenging and enriching than that of a junior developer at a large firm. Additionally, Amit receives much support from his coworkers because they are such a small crew.
In interviews, he recommends focusing on explaining ideas and solutions rather than merely demonstrating knowledge of programming languages. Amit believes that employers are looking for bright minds who can understand and explain programming concepts, not just plain code.
Amit’s Success Story: Transitioning into High-Tech
In the end, Amit’s story is a testament to the power of pursuing one’s passion and taking a chance on a new career path. From pizza making to full-stack development, it’s a truly amazing story. Amit’s journey was filled with challenges, growth, and discovery.
Now, as a successful software developer, Amit is thriving in his new career and pursuing his passion for machine learning. His story serves as an inspiration to anyone considering a career change or seeking to pursue their passion in the high-tech field.
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