Computer science and software development have been heavily promoted among the youth in the past few years. IT companies have played their role in this given the lack of workforce. However, Jonas Žilys, CEO at Codeacademy, an IT course organizer at Vilnius Tech Park, suggests there are more reasons for this buzz. He also claims knowing Microsoft Office is no longer a viable skillset in the job market for project managers, administrators and the likes.

The reason behind this buzz is simple, Jonas claims – a technology revolution is taking place. Demand for IT specialists grows everyday, yet the supply is insufficient. Also, Vilnius is becoming Central and Eastern Europe’s technology and applied sciences center, so companies want to grow here and people with specific skills are needed.

I could not say that coding skills is a necessity for everyone: there are a lot of professions that don’t even use a computer. But for officers, project managers and administrators, Microsoft Office suite knowledge and skills are not enough these days. And so some basic coding knowledge is a already huge advantage in many positions that do not directly involve coding. But being a software developer could open doors to much more exciting career opportunities.

At Codeacademy, we are preparing people for trainee and junior positions. It is definitely possible to make a career twist from a random profession to a software developer, but one must be realistic and put a lot of efforts and hard work in this endeavour to pursue a successful new career. The fact that scarcity of programmers is huge does not automatically guarantee a good and lucrative workplace after completing a course.

Whether completely changing a career or having a clear vision to become a software developer, a junior position at startup or a trainee at a larger company is the first realistic step. All then depends on one’s efforts, will and ambitions.

We believe promoting computer science among the kinds is of vital importance both for the companies and for our country. We all must invest our efforts and money in this. We see some good initiatives in the market. For instance, Coder Dojo, such events as SWITCH!, where the biggest programing lesson was held, GameOn, the largest video game event in the Baltics and others are a good way to introduce the youth to the world and the possibilities of software development. Also, after-school activities such as coding clubs, game development clubs, robotic clubs and others are getting more and more popular.  

I can make a small spoiler – in addition to courses for adults, we’re preparing a Code Academy Kids version and we are extremely happy about this!