Povio Software Engineering Academy

December 2022: After a few months of struggling with writing my Master’s thesis, I decided to give it some time and learn more Frontend instead. I still wanted to graduate, I wanted my degree, but it could wait a little, right?

The pause and the path to Frontend

The timing was perfect - there was a Frontend Academy by Povio coming up in April 2023 and I decided to apply for it. The first round was an interview, we talked about how the Academy looks, how to get into it, my experience so far and my goals for the future. They talked about an exam that all applicants have to take and then the best 12 would get accepted into the Academy program.

Round 2. Fight.

The second round was the exam and it took place in Maribor. I practiced for it but at the same time I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I didn’t know much about Frontend back then, yes I could do some simple JavaScript besides HTML and CSS but that was mostly it. The exam turned out to be pretty challenging and I only submitted 4 out of 5 tasks in the end. I was confident with 2 tasks, the other 2 didn’t go too well (or so I thought). I left Maribor humbled, grateful for the opportunity and ready to continue studying so perhaps the next exam, academy or job offer will go better.

It’s time for the Academy

At the time I was working a student job at the IT department of Community Health Center Ljubljana. One morning I received an email that I was accepted into the academy. Me? How? Are you sure? Seriously?

That was my initial reaction. I went through the email a couple of times and then I was fully convinced - I am one of the chosen 12 applicants out of 110 that will be able to learn from the best. The Academy program lasted for a month and a half, I would drive to Maribor twice a week, have lectures there and then do my homework so I could ask everything I wanted to know at the next lecture. They told us straight away that in the end, the best four of these 12 applicants would get a fully paid, 1 month full time apprenticeship, and if you passed that part, they would offer you a full time job.

I learned a lot, and looking back it really was better than any online course or resource I could find. When the time came, I had this gut feeling that I wasn’t gonna make it. I knew I was on the right path, and focusing on coding gave me more joy than anything related to my thesis or to studying chemistry.

The bitter-sweet end

I ended up in the top 5 out of 110 applicants. They hired the first four for the apprenticeship. I was gutted, but I knew there were people better skilled than me, so I kind of expected it. But still - I managed to get to top 5. I was better than people studying Computer Science. If I could do this, then I could achieve so much more. This motivated me to keep going, keep learning and keep trying. A few weeks later I landed my first Frontend student job, with hopes of it turning into something greater. Life had other plans, but that’s a story for another time.

I am forever grateful to Povio for the opportunity and everything they taught me. It went far beyond just coding and one day I hope to inspire future generations like they inspired me.

Everything happens for a reason and failure is part of success.