My name is Valentyn, I'm 37 years old, and I work as a developer now, but I didn’t start out in IT. I’m originally from Odesa, Ukraine, and I went to Odesa State Economic University, where I studied management. But to be honest, I never really worked in that field. Instead, I registered as an entrepreneur and ran my own businesses. At different times, I was selling floor coverings and doors, and I even had a small furniture manufacturing company.
For years, I was deep in the technical side of furniture making: creating drawings, designing furniture, handling all the documentation for production. Even with my own house, I designed and built a lot of it myself. But life doesn’t always go the way you expect, and at some point, I needed a new career path.
That’s how I found IT. First, I took a QA course, but I quickly realized that wasn’t enough to land a job. While looking for opportunities, I stumbled upon Hack Your Future, applied, passed the test, and started studying. It wasn’t easy (I actually failed the JavaScript exam the first time). They gave me two months to study and try again, and I passed. After finishing the course, I kept learning on my own, and four months later, I got an interview at Pionect. Just one interview, and they offered me the job. I’ve been here for almost a year now.
Before Pionect, I sent out about 200 CVs. While I was still in Hack Your Future, the only response I got was from Booking.com, but I didn’t pass their technical test. Pionect was the only company that invited me for an interview, so of course, I took the offer. I just needed that first job in IT, and I was ready to start anywhere.
One of the best things about Pionect is the relaxed atmosphere. I can work at my own pace, ask for help when I need it, and keep learning every day. Every task is something new, so I’m always improving. I actually studied a different tech stack, so when I started, I had to learn PHP and Vue from scratch. That was tough at first, but I like problem-solving, and I pick things up quickly.
I’m more of an introvert, so development fits me well. I can work on my own, but I know teamwork is important too. Most of the time, I figure things out on my own first, and then we bring everything together as a team. The biggest skill in this job is self-study—figuring out how things work and applying them immediately.
For now, my focus is on getting better as a developer. I want to become a full-stack developer and eventually a senior. Five years from now, I’d love to still be at Pionect, just at a much higher level. A year ago, I wasn’t even in IT, and now I’m here. Who knows where I’ll be in another year or two?
Outside of work, I’m into cycling. I even brought my bike from Ukraine, it just made sense because cycling here is so much easier with all the bike paths. My longest ride so far was 105 km. I also trained for a half-marathon once and actually finished the Amsterdam Half Marathon after a year and a half of training.
I like cooking too. I started when I was a kid as I had to make my own meals after school. Now, I do most of the cooking at home, mostly because my wife isn’t really into it and I enjoy doing it.
And then there are my pets. Right now, I have two hamsters. They used to live together, but they started fighting, so I had to separate them. Apparently, they’re not as social as I thought. Back in Ukraine, we also had a British Shorthair cat that somehow grew to be nine kilos.
