Meet Yevhen Lysyakov, Software Engineer Manager, and Dmitryi Zayats, Senior Software Engineer Manager, from the Lviv office. They have been working in IT for many years and have more than once witnessed disenchantment with the chosen profession from fellow novice colleagues. This often happens when people have picked out a profession not because they like it, but because it is believed that an entry threshold is lower for some specialties. Or the profession is fashionable or well paid. 

Actually, it is a great misconception. You should choose a specialty based on your character and natural abilities. Yevhen and Dmitryi pointed out some features to help determine the future profession. 

Psychological types of IT specialists  

IT specialists may be divided into several groups: 

• Front end; 
• Back end / Business logic; 
• Data Engineering; 
• Requirements & Quality. 

In turn, it is possible to distinguish different directions in these groups. In each one of them a person with certain traits will be able to prove themselves to the best advantage. After all, specialty as well as a project will require a special skill set from a specialist.  

Front end (creative and dynamic people)  

What is it? 

It is a dynamic work for people with a good imagination, since they will be working with visualization. It will be necessary to come up with many approaches to solving problems, constantly learn, keep up to date on the latest trends and develop creative thinking. 

Whom is it for?  

There are two directions in the frontend - development and design. Professions of this group are suitable for sociable people, since good communication skills are one of the basic requirements. Typically, it is designers and business analysts who tend to be the first people to communicate with a client. 

If you have recognized yourself, consider these specialties: 

• Interface Design; 
• FrontEnd (JavaScript). 

Back end / Business logic (analysts) 

What it is? 

If we are talking about working with business logic, then we need a person with ability to anticipate many scenarios for the development of events and build the logic accordingly. It will be necessary to work with algorithms and structured code, adhering to many standards. No less important will be the speed of work which may become a major difficulty. 

Whom is it for? 

These professions are for a person with an analytical mindset. If you enjoy working with data, structuring and analyzing it, you are an analyst. 

If you have recognized yourself, consider these specialties: 

• DevOps; 
• Java; 
• .NET; 
• Business Analysis; 
• Drupal. 

Data Engineering 

What is it? 

It is a work with data formats and types. It will be necessary to think through queries and understand in what form data should enter the business logic. You will need to transform the “pure” data and know how to work with it. 

Whom is it for? 

This direction is suitable for responsible, accurate people with a structured mindset, since the data "purity" is one of the key principles. You need to be diligent, because it is quite meticulous work. 

If you have recognized yourself, consider these specialties: 

• Robotic Process Automation; 
• DWBI; 
• Big Data; 
• Data Science. 

Requirements & Quality 

What is it? 

This profession requires critical thinking. You should be adept at scrutinizing things and questioning the obvious. Noticing inaccuracies is your main job. In addition, you need to know how to work with documentation, transform client business requirements for the project team and have fluent English. 

Whom is it for? 

This specialty is suitable for people who have critical mindset and notice inconspicuous defects. Such people would think through the most incredible scenarios of a system operation and are ready to challenge seemingly undeniable things. 

If you have recognized yourself, consider these specialties: 

·      Quality Assurance; 

·      Automated Testing; 

·      Business Analysis. 

How to decide on a direction? 

Talk to representatives of directions.

The best way to decide on the direction is to touch base with its representatives. Ask about the work, try to grasp their character, what kind of people they are. This way you will understand if you are on the same wavelength. 

You also need to factor in what you are more interested in and what you are good at. Give a try to different activities and then you will see what suits you best. 

Understand your character.

Your reaction to various work situations will depend on the type of temperament you have. Some people, who think creatively and are quick on the uptake, might want to consider the front-end direction. Some people, who delve deeply into everything when studying new information, might be interested in business logic. While others, who are attentive to details will enjoy working with data. 

Decide whether you are an introvert or an extrovert.

From a standpoint of a typical employment on the project, extroverts are better equipped for the frontend, since the communication is one of the key components of the position. 

However, much depends on the project. It is possible to be a great designer and an introvert; all you need is a good team and correctly built work processes. 

And what if I am more into humanities than science? 

Humanities are not a sentence :) Specialization will be a prevailing factor. The willingness to develop and a good knowledge of English will be required from you. In addition, there are many areas of IT where an outstanding technical background is not necessary. For example, marketing or business analysis. 

Prove yourself well during training.

Do not worry if after the training you will not be hired straightaway. It all depends on how motivated you are and how well you study. Whether you will be taken on a project will primarily be determined by your professional skills and level of English. After training and internship at EPAM, company does not employ everyone, however it is worth mentioning that after such training no one has been left without a job in IT. 

How not to be disappointed with your choice?  

It is necessary to work on yourself and your expectations. Mostly those are disappointed who come to work after training believing that they already know everything, and that money should start rolling in. It turns out that you need to learn constantly. IT is a very dynamic area. As soon as you have mastered something, you already have to learn something else. Today, new technologies appear every 2-3 years, and you should be ready for this. 

Again, you should not choose a profession based on an allegedly lower threshold for entry or popularity, because you may not like it at all. In this case, it is better to opt for something you would enjoy working with and spend more time studying. As a result, the work will bring you only joy. 

Choose wisely. 

*The article was prepared by EPAM specialists for Lviv.com