Jaromír Protzner did not have it easy in life. He was struck by severe health problems that left him at home. So he decided to realize his old dream and signed up for a JavaScript retraining course from itnetwork.cz. Moreover, before he finished his studies, he managed to get a job as a developer in our company, which he enjoys and fulfills, for which we are also extremely happy. Jaromir is growing before our eyes and becoming an indispensable member of the coalsoft development team.

A new career in IT? Either now or never!

Jaromir, when did you first think you wanted to go into IT?

It's been a lifelong dream of mine. Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved tinkering with computers, and that's why I was thinking about IT even before I started high school. Unfortunately, there was only one school near where I lived that focused on computer science, which was very difficult to get into because of the required grade point average. Therefore, I abandoned this idea and went to study an industrial school.

So what did you do after school?

For over six years I worked at the Škoda factory as an ordinary worker. However, due to a sports injury I had to have back surgery, which interrupted my career at that time. After this surgery, I was home a lot and had time to reassess my life so far. That's when I had the idea to try IT again and I said, it's now or never!

Why did you decide to retrain with ITnetwork?

At first I thought about going to university, however I soon reconsidered, as studying is for the long term. I was also used to a certain standard of living and income, which would have been very difficult to combine together. Therefore, I was looking for a retraining course in Czech.

What attracted you to ITnetwork?

I searched the internet for a course based on recommendations, which is how I found ITnetwork. Besides the very decent reviews, I liked the design of the site and the study materials, so I didn't hesitate.

The people at ITnetwork have always been helpful. I couldn't have done it without them.

Why did you choose JavaScript programming?

I have a lot of friends in the IT industry, among whom I asked around before retraining about what is most in demand and promising now. I got a lot of feedback on JavaScript at the time, with the idea that I would then have no shortage of well-paid and creative work. So I looked at job listings near where I live and found mostly JavaScript programmers. So I went for it, and now I certainly don't regret it.

What was the beginning of the course like for you?

It was great, I even found it too easy in places. (smile) For example, I really enjoyed learning HTML and CSS in the beginning, because you could see the results of your work right away. Sometimes I was a bit afraid of the face-to-face training in Prague, but in the end it was good too.

What was your impression of JavaScript itself?

It was harder with it. The basics were still okay, but then I started to swim a lot in object-oriented programming. I even thought at one point that I might not be able to finish the course. However, my colleagues from ITnetwork were very helpful and moved the dates of various training courses and exams so that I had time to learn everything gradually. And in the end it wasn't that hard, I just needed more time.

What did you like most about the course?

The approach of my colleagues from ITnetwork! They were very nice. If you needed advice, they always made time for it. In addition, ITnetwork has a great online handout that I still use occasionally. In the vast majority of cases I can find what I need there.

I feel like a valid member of the coalsoft team!

Did you work during the course?

Yes, but only towards the end. When I felt more confident in the language and in my knowledge, I contacted my friends from coalsoft in Letohrad who were looking for a new programmer. They wanted to check me out first, so I got a test. I was surprised how good I felt about it and how much I knew. Eventually they hired me and I joined the company right away. It was a little complicated because I was studying for my final exam, which I had to postpone. But I got through everything just fine.

You are currently working at our coalfamily! Could you give our readers an overview of our company coalsoft?

Coalsoft specializes in SAP cloud technology consulting, SAPUI5 application development and SAP Integration Suite implementations. Although it is a small company it can rely on strong references not only from multinational companies. We have great people in our team who love their work, do it to the fullest and spend their free time together outside of work activities.

What do you personally do at work?

As a SAPUI5 Developer, my main role is to create and customize user interfaces for SAP applications. This may include creating new screens, forms, dialogs, tables and other UI elements. My job is also to ensure that the UI is compatible with different devices such as computers, tablets or mobile phones. So I get to work with exactly what I'm learning, albeit on a very different scale. I was working with 200 lines of code, now there are 3500! Getting to grips with it is sometimes quite difficult, but I enjoy it and learn something new every day. When we finished the course, we were told that we would become programmers after three or four years of practice. (smile) But I am very happy and I want to stay in IT and coalsoft. Unlike in the corporate world, here you don't feel like a number, but a really valid member of the team.

The course gave me exactly what I needed to get a job.

Do you have a programming dream?

I don't think I have one yet. I'd like to learn the language properly first so I can eventually work on the home office without any problems. My dream is to travel a lot, maybe in America or South Asia, and program at the same time.

Would you recommend ITnetwork to others?

Definitely yes, I have already recommended it to a few people and I even inspired two former colleagues from Škoda to retrain. I am absolutely happy with the course, it gave me exactly what I needed to get a job.

You can find more information about retraining courses on the ITnetwork website HERE!