Why iOLAP Academy: Insider’s Review
July 2022
July 2022
To give you a closer picture of the iOLAP Academy, a remote practical summer training in IT skills that can lead to an opportunity to get a job straight away, we offer you the Insider’s Review - the real experience from participants of our first generation, the generation of 2021.
In this article, followed by, iOLAP Academy 2022 FAQ and 96% of participants rated the iOLAP Academy as a 5 star experience!
Now you can read more about the experience of Jasmina, a young enthusiast with 3 years of experience in HR working in big IT companies that decided to go for a career switch - with iOLAP Academy! Find out more about her experience, maybe you will decide on a career switch as well after reading it :)
Just before the summer started, I saw an announcement on the faculty website that immediately caught my eye. It said: iOLAP Academy.
As I read further, it got my attention: a program for young IT enthusiasts, requiring entry-level knowledge, focusing on hands-on experience? As a student aspiring to get a better grasp on Data & Analytics area, my mind was already set on it.
The next question was, what will it look like and what will the content be. There was a description of two courses for the applicants to choose from. Although it surely sounds interesting to learn how to create an app from scratch to a fully functional software, the Data&Analytics track was the one I was hoping to participate in. The part that attracted me the most was the content itself:
All that knowledge gained within a company that has many years of experience in the field of data management! It sounded like one of those opportunities that don’t come along every day, and one worth a try.
I decided to find out more and applied for Open Doors Day at iOLAP. And what an amazing event it was! I got to know the mentors, find out more about the company, had a pass through the offices and mingled among the employees. I really felt like this is where I should be, so I decided to apply :)
From the very beginning, the selection process was clear, simple and the whole team was really friendly. After the initial steps, we had an interview through which we had the chance to talk about our skills with iOLAP team members and leaders, as well as ask all our questions.
Ever wondered what it would feel like to work on and learn completely new skills during 6 weeks, in a group of 12 teammates, with 9 mentors, while some teammates and mentors work from office and others remote? Me neither, but this Academy had it all.
Lessons learned:
Perks of working from office – having your dedicated work desk, a great coffee machine & snacks, lurking for mentors on the spot, hanging out with your teammates, all the needed equipment, meeting other iOLAP members.
Perks of working from home – no need to put on pants, possibility of repeating “can you see my screen” an unlimited number of times daily, forgetting to (un)mute your mic in all the wrong occasions, dog being silent all day but starts wildly barking the very second you unmute.
The last week of Academy was reserved for our own project, within a smaller team of 4 people. Our task was to create and implement different resources which ingested some museum data from an API source, make some transformations and load the data ready for the final user. Simple, right?
Everything is easier with the right people, so thanks to our mentors who guided us and the possibility to work in a team, we managed to prepare a solution. The leitmotifs of this week were definitely “oops”, “why doesn’t this work”, “why does this work?” and an excessive amount of googling.
The thing that surprised me already on the first day was the number of mentors dedicated to our Academy course: a total of 9 experts, each for a different field, ready to share their experiences with us during the following weeks. The “impostor syndrome” fear soon melted away, as mentors were completely open to our own level of experience and pace, approachable and it was easy to reach out to them for any issue, either in person or by jumping on a call. It was nice to feel like a part of the team from the start, and sometimes it’s the little things, like seeing your own name card on the dedicated workspace, or finding random cookies waiting on your desk for no specific reason 😊
The supporting, relaxed atmosphere in the office definitely contributed to the whole experience, and I also found the flexibility about location useful – it was great to have an option to join from home as well from the office.
Want to get ahead in your IT career with expert mentors?
Join our Academy this year and learn from the best! Applications are open until July 24.
