Finance or programming? 26-year-old Volodya Ismailyan decided to choose the latter after years of working and studying in the former. Volodya took his first step toward changing his profession when he heard about 42 Yerevan in 2020. A couple of years passed, and now he has already started his first job as a software engineer.
Volodya, a Vanadzor native, majored in Finance at the Armenian State University of Economics and worked at a bank for four years. His colleague noticed that Volodya had started learning how to code and reading programming books and told him about TUMO’s plans to establish an Armenian campus of the French 42 programming school.
Volodya took his colleague’s advice and researched the school before registering. “I played the game and forgot about it. A few months later, I received a letter saying that I should register for the Piscine. I didn’t. When the second letter came, I still hadn’t registered. After the third letter, I realized how fast the first two Pools had filled up and signed up as soon as I could,” Volodya reflects. He’s almost finished with the main curriculum of the school and is set to become one of its first graduates.
Volodya has been working as a software engineer at VMS Software for a month now, mainly focusing on OS development, a passion that he discovered during his time at 42.
Was Volodya’s career change pure coincidence or a conscious decision? We won’t know for sure. Nonetheless, his story sets an example: it’s possible to change your path and succeed. The key is to put in the work and take calculated risks.
