This spring, we concluded the third year of the Mobile Academy in Etnetera, a course for beginners or intermediate mobile development enthusiasts. Participants of the Android and iOS faculty graduated from the Academy with a diploma and some of them were even offered a permanent job as a mobile developer. Specifically Bára, Michael, Jarda and Patrik. What did Etnetera Mobile Academy give them and what are their first impressions of the developer position? Read on to find out.
"Mobile Academy has climbed to the top of my school/work priorities since my first homework assignment. It has given me more practical skills than the courses at FIT, which are for the most part more theoretical," says Patrik, who is now an Android developer. Michael agrees, "The Academy gave me the opportunity to consolidate the knowledge needed for development of apps.” Getting up early on weekends was difficult for him, as he said he likes to sleep in.
For most, working at Etnetera is their first major work experience, which in itself is quite challenging. You have to deal with that too. This is where the support of colleagues from the Mobile team comes in handy. "If it weren't for the differences in experience and knowledge, you wouldn't even know you were a newcomer. I have never had anyone look down on me or react negatively to any elementary question. And God knows I would go mad because of myself sometimes," laughs Bára.
And that the support of colleagues is important for newcomers in Etnetera and, after all, in the field itself, is confirmed by Jarda. "What surprised me the most was that even though I was a newcomer, the rest of the team accepted me as an equal colleague from the first moment," says Jarda, adding: "Even when planning some technical things on the project, my senior colleague listened to me and several things were solved according to my suggestion," he says with satisfaction.
Fuck-ups
As starting developers, they may have encountered a few fuck-ups during their Mobile Academy assignments that made their jobs more difficult. However, the current graduates always had experienced mentors to help them. And now the mentors are colleagues and development of apps is no longer just test work.
"I've already had a few issues where I feel like I'm getting into it, so I'm hoping there aren't any fuck-ups waiting around the corner, like during testing... Or God forbid some bugs," hopes Patrik.
"Although it could have been guessed during the academy, it wasn't until I joined Etnetera that the door to the world of mobile development really opened for me. Those occasional awakenings from ignorance are probably the biggest challenge for me, but it's up to the person how they approach it and whether they give way to frustration or, on the contrary, the excitement of something new," says Bára.
And what are the stories of graduates from previous years of Etnetera Mobile Academy? Read them in our earlier article What the Graduates Are Doing Today or watch their impressions on Etnetera Core's YouTube channel.