The document outlines how to start a career in IT, particularly as a software developer, emphasizing the importance of coding skills and practical experience. It highlights various tech education initiatives, including SoftUni, which has trained around 20,000 students and focuses on zero-to-career programs. Additionally, it discusses current in-demand IT professions and encourages aspiring developers to engage in free coding courses to determine their interest in programming.

1. IT Professions and How to Start with IT?
How to Become a Software Developer?
Svetlin Nakov, PhD
Co-Founder and Innovations
Manager @ SoftUni
https://nakov.com
The Future IT Forum 2022 @
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

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 Software engineer, tech trainer, entrepreneur,
PhD in computer science, author of 16 books
nakov.com
 4 successful tech education initiatives
 National Academy for Software
Development (NASD)
 Telerik Software Academy
 SoftUni (Software University)
 Private IT High School "SoftUni Svetlina"
About Svetlin Nakov

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 SoftUni is the biggest tech education provider in SEE
 Zero-to-career programs for software engineers, design and
UX and digital marketing; kids coding; tech high school
 20K graduates in LinkedIn
 https://linkedin.com/school/software-university-softuni/people
 https://linkedin.com/school/softuni-digital/people
 https://linkedin.com/school/softuni-creative/people
 Community of 300K learners
About SoftUni

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IT Professions
Software developer /
software engineer
QA engineer /
tester / software
quality expert
System
Administrator /
DevOps engineer
IT Consultant / CRM /
ERP / BI expert
Business analyst /
project manager
Data Science /
AI engineer

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Digital Marketing Professions
Digital
marketing
professional
e-Commerce
expert
Search engine
expert (SEO)
Copywriting
expert
Digital
advertising
expert
Social media
marketing expert
AdWords
expert
Email marketing
expert
Expert video
marketing

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Design and UX Professionals
Interior
designer
Animator
2D / 3D
Web UI
designer
Graphic
designer
UI / UX
designer
Interaction
designer
Pre-print
expert
Video artist
Brand
designer

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 The most in-demand IT professions in the USA (Oct 2022)
 Python developer: 732K positions
 Java developer: 700K positions
 JavaScript developer: 664K positions
 QA engineer: 241K positions
 .NET developer: 183K positions
 DevOps engineer: 124K positions
 450 IT jobs in Mongolia: zangia.mn/job/list/b.4
Most In-Demand IT Professions in the USA
 Traditional jobs:
 Physician:
379K positions
 Truck driver:
194K positions
 Advocate:
169K positions

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What are Companies Looking For?

9. How to Become a
Software Engineer?

10.  First find out if programming is for you!
 Sign up for the SoftUni & MLC free coding
course for beginners: mlctraining.mn
 Or follow a tutorial / book / video course on the Internet
 Does programming excite you?
 Do you really like it and enjoy it?
 Are you good at coding problems?
 Do you want to write code all the time?
How do I Become a Software Engineer?
10

11.  To become a software engineer, you
need to study hard and consistently!
 1-2 years @ part time (15-20 hours / week)
 Or 1 year @ 8-10 hours daily
 Developing practical projects
 Write 100K+ lines of code (LOC)
 100K LOC == 300 days * 350 LOC
Study Hard with a Lot of Practice
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12.  Coding skills – 20%
 Algorithmic thinking – 30%
 Fundamental concepts of the
software developer profession – 25%
 Programming languages &
software technologies – 25%
Learn the 4 of Fundamental Skills
12

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 Basic Coding Course – calculations, data, conditions, loops, IDE
 Fundamentals of Programming – arrays, lists, maps, nested structures,
text processing, error handling, basic language APIs, problem solving
 Object-Oriented Programming – classes, objects, inheritance, …
 Databases and ORM – relational DB, SQL, ORM frameworks, XML, JSON
 Back-End Development – HTTP, MVC, Web apps, REST
 Front-End Development – HTML, CSS, JS, DOM, AJAX, JS Frameworks
 Projects – Git, software engineering, teamwork
 Example: https://softuni.org/learn
Typical Curriculum for Developers

14.  You need a portfolio of projects in GitHub!
 Examples: https://github.com/YanaSlavcheva/SoftUni-Work,
github.com/hammer4/SoftUni, github.com/VasAtanasov
 Show the employers your skills
 How do you prove skills?
 With a rich GitHub profile!
 Start a job and gain experience
Build a Portfolio and Start a Job
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Learn more from my blog
➡ nakov.com/blog/2022/03

15. It Just Takes Time and Persistence
Anyone Can Be a Software Developer!

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 Why can anyone become a software developer and start a job
in the IT industry?
 It's not complex, it just takes time and persistence
 Already nearly 20K students have studied programming at
SoftUni in Bulgaria) and started a job in the IT industry
 Retraining: hairdressers, musicians, architects, financiers,
journalists, taxi drivers --> all succeed
 Technically it is not complex. You need just logical thinking
 Success stories: Ivaylo, Chriss, Kaloyan, Nakov's blog
Anyone Can Be a Software Developer!

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 Statistics from Bulgaria (from 17K graduates from SoftUni)
 University degree in not required by the software industry!
 70% are career changers
 Use SoftUni to change their job and enter the IT industry
 They can learn programming only at slow speed (after job)
 30% are school / university students
 Use SoftUni to add practical software development skills
 They study in school / university in parallel with SoftUni
Who Can Become a Developer?

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 How to know if programming is your passion?
 Sign-up for the free "Programming Basics" courses @ MLC
Business School: http://www.mlctraining.mn
 Start for free, pass through the course, touch coding
 If you enjoy programming, go ahead with the next modules
 Graduate in 16-20 months (at slow speed, 2-3 times / week)
 Learn programming, databases, back-end, front-end, etc.
 Graduate as a software developer and start a tech job
Is Programming Your Passion?

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http://mlctraining.mn
Start with Programming @ MLC Business School

20. SoftUni – https://softuni.bg