Paul Turchenko – “Life is complicated and tough. But life is fair.”

Paul is a talented mobile software developer from Ukraine who has recently joined our company. He graduated from the Lviv National Polytechnic University with Master’s Degree in Computer Science in 2007. Being a student, he started working for one of the Ukrainian IT companies. After making an important career change decision Paul became a part of Forte’s team. Now he works as an Android instructor at Forte Knowledge and shares his mobile development expertise, thus helping his students to succeed in today's competitive IT job market. In this interview he shares his recipe for a successful career change.

Paul, tell me about your story of getting acquainted with Forte Group.

At some point of my life I realized that I need to get out of Ukraine and started sending my resume to different companies. One of the Forte’s employees contacted me saying “Hey, let’s do some projects”. We started working on one project and then I was offered relocation to the US.

How did visa processing go for you?

About three months. Overall process went really quick and smooth. I would give a huge credit to Forte’s visa department for that.

Tell me about your current job. What are you working on right now?

Basically, what I do right now is work for one of Chicago companies. We successfully released one Android application and now I’m working on the second one which is very popular on the iPhone, so the company decided to have another one on Android. Besides that, I’m having Android sessions 3 days per week at Forte Knowledge. As far as I can tell, they are going pretty well. Android school becomes more popular these days as we’ve got other people coming for a next set of classes.

How do your students succeed in Android development?

Well, there was one student who was unemployed and took Android classes class to change his career. After taking the classes he got like 3 job offers which seem to be really good.

Do you have any professional development plans?

The technology expands so fast that you have to be at least on the same pace to keep track of it and to be on demand on this market.

What about personal ones?

Well, I just plan to settle down here - have to make lots of arrangements until I feel like home. I also think of travelling around the U.S.

Did you feel that your life changed when you moved to the U.S.?

Yes, absolutely. I left everything I had in Ukraine and moved here. There a lot of things that caught me off guard: housing issues, high taxes (that was really unexpected) and a lot of minor problems that comes into play when you have to deal with them. So, definitely, my life has changed. I can’t say it’s better or worse, it’s just different. As far as I like it, I’m still here.

Are there any things you miss – let’s say mom’s cooking?

The food that is popular (sandwiches, pizza) is terrible and Americans do admit that. Still you always have a choice: you can cook or go to places that offer something different, healthier and tastier. For now, the food is definitely an issue for me.

Any things you would like to share with future candidates?

From impression I’ve got, many people expect that the U.S. is the magical country where dreams come true, where life is easy and people are rich. That is not true. Life is complicated and tough. But life is fair. The harder you work and “sell yourself” – the more decent living is.

by Lusya Galkina

Dmitry Malankov – “I’m lucky - we don’t have bosses here, we’re all friends”

Dmitry Malankov is a software developer from Minsk, Belarus. It has been almost 1 month since he moved to Chicago. Prior to this Dmitry had been working for more than 5 years as a software developer in a couple of well-known IT outsourcing companies in Belarus. In this interview Dmitry shares his story and advice for making a successful career change.

Dmitry, tell me a couple of words about your background: where did you study and work before moving to the USA, what experience do you have in IT?

I studied in the National Technical University in Minsk, also known as Polytechnic Academy. My background is mostly outsourcing development in 3 different companies in Minsk. I tried different roles: developer, leader and even manager and it gave me miscellaneous experience. To make a long story short I’d say that technologies are easier to deal with, but anyway people are more interesting.

How did you get acquainted with Forte?

I’ve been to Chicago a couple of times before; this city has impressed me a lot and I decided to try to work here. I made a pretty quick market investigation and got the site of the company.

How long did it take you to join Forte’s team - from the first interview till your landing on the other side of the globe?

The government was very slow this year; they had been holding my documents for more than 5 months. So it took about 10 months including additional paperwork, interviews, visa preparations, trip preparation and other minor things.

What was the hardest part in this process – interviews, documents, embassy, etc.?

I had a technical interview before my arrival, you know, it always takes a lot of energy. Other things were not so hard; some of them were even pleasant.

Tell me about the company you work for: how do you like you coworkers, boss :), projects, responsibilities? Are they the way you expected them to be?

Exactly, they’re good guys, most of them are Russian native speakers. We’re working on a project for a huge American medical care company. My responsibilities are the same – regular software development. And you know what? I’m lucky - we don’t have bosses here, we’re all friends.

In terms of professional and personal development, what new skills did you acquire working for an American company?

Some new tools and practices, different communication style.

Are there a lot of differences between working and living in Belarus and USA? Please name a couple.

In the US you have to pay for everything, rules are strict and punishment is inevitable. Different thinking and humor. Different food. A lot of people from everywhere. It’s interesting place to live, discover and investigate if you like it.

What things you especially like about USA?

Nature, nice little houses and calm suburbs.

And what about those you don't like?

Traffic and expensive parking.

What plans do you have for future?

I’m going to develop a new safe supersonic just to be able to fly fast from Chicago to Minsk on weekends J.

Your tips for success for future candidates?

It’s a very common question, so I answer it in common too. Be open-minded and flexible. Nothing new and it may seem boring but it works.

by Lusya Galkina

Sergii Doroschuk- ''I’m the youngest one ''

Sergii Doroschuk is a software developer with more than 3 years of experience. Sergey started his career in software engineering when he was a student – working for SoftServe, Ukraine. He holds a Master’s Degree in Information Security and Computer Science from Lviv Polytechnic National University.

Sergii, how did you get to know about job opportunities with Forte CG?

One of my friends told me that he was looking for a job in the USA. He found Forte CG and recommended it to me. I also knew a couple of guys who were employees of Forte, they are my ex-coworkers in SoftServe. By the way, my friend who told me about job opportunities with Forte is still in the process of getting visa and I’m here :).

Have you thought of moving to the USA before?

Yep. In 2007 I was in Maryland, participated in Work & Travel. During these 6 months I got a lot of friends and I’m that type of person who likes to try something new and challenge myself in new environment.

How long did it take you to become an employee of Forte CG – from sending your resume till your arrival in the USA?

Exactly one year.

What was the hardest part during this year – gathering all necessary documents, interview in the embassy or?

Interview was pretty fine because when the embassy worker started to ask questions, he found out that I’ve been to the US before, in 2007. Then he started wondering where I’ve been. I told him and at the same time saw a smile on his face. He was exactly from the area where I’ve stayed during my first visit to the US. We continued talking about it and eventually found some common friends.

And speaking about the hardest part, probably it was gathering all documents.

Describe me the company you work for – how do you like the environment, your coworkers, job responsibilities?

The company I work for is mostly in mailing business. The whole process starts from design of mailings, bills and sending them out. Currently I’m involved into a new project that is related to medical billing system. Most of the team I’m working with consists of Russian speaking guys and I was really surprised at that fact. I expected my team to be English speaking but it turned out vice versa. Therefore, I have the same culture and environment as I had in Ukraine, surprisingly :).

What is the biggest difference between working in the USA and your home country?

The age gap between me and my coworkers (the difference is counted in decades), I’m the youngest one :)

What about living ?

If working is almost the same, living is much easier. Mostly in terms of collaboration with governmental structures, I mean such things as communicating by e-mail with officials, filling out documents and forms, buying cars, etc.

Is there anything you don’t like?

Sometimes the number of laws in the US is annoying, especially taking into consideration the ones like “Don’t feed the ducks”, “Don’t swim without a lifeguard”.

And speed limit - the understanding that I cannot give a cop 10 $ -20$ and go my way. Your record always impacts your insurance cost – it’s such a pain.

What about your professional development in the company you are working now?

As I’m staying here less then 3 month, I can’t say I learned a lot. But I’m trying to do my best and pushing new technologies. Recently I developed a part of application we are working on in Silverlight and showed it to my team lead – it was successful :)

What tips can you give to future candidates?

"Don't panic", be prepared for temporarily inconveniences and always consider at least 3 options prior to making an important choice.

Konstantin Kozak:"“ I’m a great believer of luck and I find, that the harder I work the more I have it”"

These words, expressed by Stephen Leacock prove that if you've got a chance, you should seize it and never give it up, despite all the efforts it claims. The reason- it’s worth it, striving for more and getting more. The Information Technologies have fully absorbed modern society and it seems like there can be nothing else concocted. Still each year there appear gadgets and programming languages that are superior and more readable than the previous ones. Just one word gets on one’s mind- Infinity. Thus, the people who can conduct these services are of great value in the whole world. These people are ForteCG candidates, who are successful, self-confident and demanded for. These are developers that are given the chance and believe us, they take a solid hold of it.

Konstantin Kozak is one of those who was in the right place, in the right time, doing the RIGHT things. Konstantin is a Software developer with 4,5 years experience in IT development. He has recently come to the United States as one of the Forte CG candidates and successfully started working for American company. Konstantin has shared his way of luck:

So, Konstantin how did you get acquainted with the company? I was referred to by Vladimir Baibus and got very positive reference for Forte CG. That’s how I’ve started my performance in American IT market, and my story has begun.

What was your motivation on the starting point? Motivation? That’s not a secret, what I wanted is to get to the United States in some time. But it happened so that Forte CG got interested in me as a potential candidate and it happened much faster than expected.

How long did it take you to get on board? It took me quite a short period of time. Nastia Morhayeva has started working with me in late fall 2009. She conducted the initial interview, then I had technical screening. Due to my personal issues the visa application started only in July 2010. And in September I was already on the other part of the globe.

Can you remember your interview in the embassy, what tips can you give for the candidates? The only thing that should be done is to follow all the recommendations I learned during the preparation, who’s prepared me for the interview. She prepared me for precisely those questions that I was asked during my interview, so I was perfectly aware and confident. One more thing is that the candidate must say the truth, because it is often double-checked by the ambassador.

Did the company perform all the responsibilities and duties that were promised? How can you evaluate it in scale 1-10? All the procedures were conducted in a professional way. The team supported and assisted in all the issues. They met me in the airport, provided accommodation, introduced to Chicago office, helped to buy mobile phone and clothes for the interview. The abundance of brands can drive one crazy. All are very friendly and helpful. It can definitely be 10, excellent job. I’ve even got my reimbursement for the expenses already

How soon did you start working? I’m currently working as a Java developer at Compusystems. I’ve started right after my arrival, so there weren’t any long pauses between my arrival and actual real-time projects. I’ve got into centrifuge of American lifestyle right away and in no way regret it. There even wasn’t any cultural shock, everything what you see in the American movies, you see in reality.

What can you say to the future candidates? Let them get it started! :)

by Aleksandra Gordeewa