From purchaser to IT specialists: who and why goes to the "Programming School" of Rostelecom

The digitalization of life is a steady trend of the last decade, which only intensified in 2020. In these conditions, employers strive to teach employees modern IT skills, by nurturing tough specialists within companies. Rostelecom has been operating for two years now “School of programming». Employees of all departments can learn Python, JavaScript, SQL and other languages ​​- it doesn't matter whether their activities are related to IT or not. We spoke with five course alumni and learned how coding changed their lives.

Irina Nural: "If you do not develop, you will find yourself behind the current trends"

I came to Rostelecom about two years ago and was immediately struck by the amount of data that needs to be processed. For example, the receipt of funds to the current account for acquiring is checked daily by 35 employees for 15 minutes a day.

My main task as a leader is to make sure that everything is done correctly. But anyone can make a mistake, so it was necessary to somehow optimize these routine processes. I learned from the internal mailing list that you can parse data using Python. This was the main reason to enroll in the "School of Programming". In addition, since my university days, I have dreamed of being a programmer.

More than 100 other Rostelecom employees took courses with me. We were all divided into teams of 10 to add a competitive spirit to our studies. Points were awarded for the timely delivery of homework, success in additional assignments, and helping other students.

I graduated from the programming school a year ago. I apply knowledge from time to time when I have free time. For me, coding is still a hobby.

Nevertheless, I have something to brag about. I wrote two scripts: for checking cash collection and acquiring. Now all data from this category is checked automatically. And this is a plus for everyone. Employees are no longer engaged in boring and routine work, and I am sure that all the data is collected correctly. With automated verification, errors are practically excluded, and moreover, deadlines are not disrupted.

I think you need to keep up with the times, change and adjust your work to the new conditions. The world is developing rapidly: first, accountants had bills, then a calculator, then a computer helped to process information, and now it does all the work on its own. The accountant has become a kind of data analyst, and in order to perform duties efficiently, he needs to know how everything works. If you do not develop, you will find yourself behind the current trends.

Evgeny Knyazev: “You can work in one company for quite a long time, if there is a possibility of development both upward and horizontally”

I have been at Rostelecom for more than 8 years - I came to the company right after graduation. All this time he worked as a procurement specialist, changed several positions in different branches. In 2019 he transferred to Moscow. Here he accompanied the procurement process and began to deal with data analysis.

When I found out about the opening of the School of Programming, I immediately wanted to get there. The description of the course spoke about the possibility of moving to another direction within the company - this inspired me a lot.

But desire alone was not enough. To get on the course, you had to pass a test on the basics of programming and write a letter of motivation. I did it only the second time. The first attempt was unsuccessful, as there was a high competition, plus I was simultaneously taking another course at the online university of Rostelecom.

The training program included Python, SQL and data science blocks. When we finished training, we were offered to try to get the position of data scientist: they gave us a test task to test our skills. I didn’t manage to pass the selection, but I didn’t give up programming. After graduation, we continued to communicate with classmates - we discussed the news, found out who had what successes and plans. One of my colleagues suggested that I try to become a systems analyst. It was November 2020. Then I thought about changing jobs, including looking for her in a new field. I decided to try the proposed vacancy. As a result, I successfully passed the interview and started my way to IT.

Nowadays, few people have been working in one position for a long time. But in one company you can work for quite a long time, if there is a possibility of development both upward and horizontally. The team's willingness to accept and support newcomers is important here. In Rostelecom, despite the high workload, everyone in the IT cluster is committed to teamwork and mutual assistance, which helps to adapt to a new role faster.

I like my current job: there are other tasks and problems here, you need to regularly immerse yourself in what you do not know and study something over and over again. And I understand that the company has room to grow. Rostelecom has a huge IT cluster, where you can always find interesting projects and non-trivial tasks. It seems to me that there is a lot of room for development for each employee.

Alexander Pavlov: “I just wanted to try something new. As a result, I took two whole courses "

I have been working at Rostelecom since 2003. Most of the time I spend on monitoring the tasks in the JIRA system that come to our department - an average of 60–80 are received per week. Plus, it is necessary to collect daily, weekly, monthly reports on the number of applications: received, completed and in progress. It takes a lot of time, besides, in general, these are boring actions. Knowledge of Python helps to complete such tasks faster. Although initially this was not the purpose of my training.

I signed up for the School of Programming simply because I wanted to try something new. As a result, I took two whole courses: the first - "Introduction to Python" - the year before last; the second - "Data Analyst" - finished this spring.

The first course was quite simple and stress-free: classes were held once a week for two hours in a webinar format; homework took literally an hour. The second course is much more difficult: the number of classes and assignments has increased. And for a successful completion, it was necessary to make two whole projects: the first - to predict the cost of an apartment in Moscow using the initial data, the second - to determine whether the client would pay off the loan or not. I passed both projects successfully.

After the courses in Python, I wrote a code that collects the data I need in the project management system, unloads it into a table and sends it to me by mail. Does account for me! I spent a lot of time on this development, but now I can deal with more interesting tasks. I also wrote a script for my colleagues: now they can send me a request by mail with the name of the required report - the computer generates and sends it itself.

Even after learning Python, I adapted a macro for Excel, which is used at the stage of migration of the subscriber base. for parsing customer addresses into separate components: region, district, city, microdistrict, street, house, building, flat. For data with more than ten thousand rows, a Python script runs an order of magnitude faster than an Excel macro.

Another example of simplifying the routine is the creation of a search engine for clarifying current bank details. An up-to-date archive with a reference book of banks is downloaded from the original source (the website of the Central Bank) and a search is performed in an XML file. Previously, this operation used a regular Internet search using a browser, but it was time-consuming.

Now I am working on a system that would help to distribute tasks: it would suggest which employee is best suited for their implementation.

Nikolay Schepilov: "Now routine tasks take 10 times less time"

I have been interested in data science and the Python programming language for several years now. Before taking the courses, I used SQL quite fluently for data analysis, knew a little about VBA, Python and Java - I taught them in open courses on YouTube and Stepik. And when the opportunity arose to get additional knowledge for free, of course, I agreed.

I got on the Junior stream, the course lasted six months. The training took place on a special platform: there you had to listen to a lesson and immediately complete a practical task. In general, they were not difficult, besides, I already had a little experience. But there were also problem blocks - related to higher mathematics and machine learning: I had to read additional literature.

Now the Python language has become a real helper for performing routine data analysis from unrelated sources, as well as specific project tasks for testing web applications and complex integrations. Now all this is done easier, faster and with fewer errors - I spend much less time. It also became possible to delegate repeated cases when the main work of the analysis has already been performed by the code.

The knowledge and skills I gained also allowed me to advance in self-study of Java, and as a result - I participated in the successful implementation of the Camunda Platform (business process management platform) in our division.

Dmitry Tarasov: "As a leader, it is important for me to understand the capabilities of the instrument - for this there is nothing better than taking courses and seeing it personally, touching it with your hands."

I am constantly studying and taking different courses. I have been planning to learn Python for a long time. When the invitation to the “School of Programming” came, I decided not to miss the opportunity.

Why do I need it? We build predictive models, analytics services, regulations and reports - we work with data in all its diversity. Although I myself do little with my hands, it is extremely important for me, as a leader, to understand the capabilities of the instrument, its correct organization, and applicability in the general orchestration of solutions. And for this there is nothing better than taking courses to see and try everything yourself. At the same time, shake off the dust from the brain.

Before the "School of Programming" I knew SQL and VBA well, I also knew C #, PHP, HTML, Java - at a level sufficient to read the code, to understand what the developer wanted to achieve.

In the courses, I took the Junior program with an emphasis on data analysis. It consisted of three blocks: about Python, about SQL, and an overview about data engineering. The most interesting were the tasks of the final block, where it was necessary to work with Scikit-learn libraries: based on real cases I created models that produce a result, and not abstract in the form of some numbers, but understandable, based on real task. It was cool.

The intensive lasted almost six months. As a result, I clearly defined which tasks are better to solve with Python tools, and which ones with SQL. Plus, now I set and evaluate tasks more competently: I understand that this takes one day, this is three, and this is seven. And it became easier to explain to employees what I want from them - because I can use clear and correct terms.

IN "School of programming»Rostelecom can be dealt with by both employees with zero training and already experienced specialists working in the IT-direction of the company. Students are divided according to the level of training: Junior - beginners, Middle - specialists with experience of one and a half years, Senior - with more than four years of experience.

This is not the only educational program at Rostelecom. The company has its own training system. This is a full-fledged development environment for employees, which consists of the platform for professional and personal development "Online University" (contains more than 800 video courses!), a network of training centers across the country, a portal for the development of digital skills and the exchange of expertise "Talent Exchange" and a platform for assessment on key positions in the company.

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