<h2><strong>8 Useful Sources for Learning JavaScript</strong><em><strong></strong></em></h2>
<p><em>What books should a novice JavaScript developer read? What sites should you visit regularly to update your knowledge? For the Anywhere Club blog, Artsiom Aliakseyenka, hands-on tech lead with 10+ years in software development, shares his suggestions below.</em><em><br></em></p>

<p>  </p><h3><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/javascript-the-good/9780596517748/" target="_blank">JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford</a></h3>

<p>In my opinion this is a classic book. It is not that big compared to The Definitive Guide by Flanagan, but it is complete and provides all of the required knowledge about JavaScript. This is not suited for a complete newbie, but it’s ideal for someone who understands what programming is and wants to <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/learn" target="_blank">learn</a> JavaScript.</p> <h3><a href="https://javascript.info/" target="_blank">Javascript.info</a></h3>

<p>One of the best tutorials for beginners. It includes a language guide with a complete description of each component. It provides a guide to JavaScript work in a browser, DOM api.</p> <h3><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/high-performance-browser/9781449344757/" target="_blank">High Performance Browser Networking by Ilya Grigorik&nbsp;</a></h3>
<p>Offers great insights for building performant web applications. A must-read for a software developer. Even if you know how web communication works, you will still find a number of interesting facts and suggestions on how to improve your app.<a href="https://web.dev" target="_blank"><br></a></p><h3><a href="https://web.dev" target="_blank">Web.dev</a>&nbsp;— learning paths provided by Google</h3>
<p>The information is helpfully structured by topics, so it is easy to navigate and study. Since Google is one of the main drivers of the web, it’s worth learning about what it provides.<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript" target="_blank"><br></a></p><h3><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript" target="_blank">Developer.mozila.org</a></h3>
<p>MDN acts as an API reference for all JavaScript developers. It doesn't provide learning paths, but it’s a great tool to learn any specific API you are trying to use. It provides both theory and examples.<a href="https://javascriptweekly.com/" target="_blank"><br></a></p><h3><a href="https://javascriptweekly.com/" target="_blank">Javascriptweekly.com</a>&nbsp;—&nbsp;<strong></strong>RSS feed </h3>
<p>This is a newsletter of JavaScript articles. Subscribe to be up to date with the latest trends and news.<a href="https://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/internals/howbrowserswork/" target="_blank"><br></a></p><h3><a href="https://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/internals/howbrowserswork/" target="_blank">Html5rocks.com</a>&nbsp;—&nbsp;How browsers work</h3>

<p>This is a pretty old article, but not a lot has changed since it was written. It provides an excellent explanation of how a browser process HTML web pages, and how rendering is done (this is one of the main questions in interviews for JavaScript positions).&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/designing-data-intensive-applications/9781491903063/" target="_blank">Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann&nbsp;</a></h3>
<p>Not related to JavaScript, but IMO a great book for learning how to work with data. It describes the principles of distributed data systems. This book might be more interesting for people who want to be a full-stack developer.</p>
<p>You can learn more about JavaScript in IT Beard Shorts issue on the Anywhere Club Y<a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/AnywhereClub" target="_blank">ouTube channel</a>.</p><iframe style="width: 500px; height: 281px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KHE0IBUn6Qw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p><br></p><br><p> <br></p>
<p>  </p>

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What books should a novice JavaScript developer read? What sites to visit to regularly update your knowledge? For the Anywhere Club blog, Artsiom Aliakseyenka, Chief Software Engineer, shares his expertise.

8 Useful Sources for Learning JavaScript

What books should a novice JavaScript developer read? What sites to visit to regularly update your knowledge?

8 useful sources for learning JavaScript

<h2>5 Myths About IT: True or False?<br></h2>
<p><em>Many people think that in IT you earn </em><em>an</em> <em>exorbitant</em> <em>amount</em> <em>of</em> <em>money</em><em>, </em><em>others</em> <em>are convinced that it is out of their depth. </em><em>But is</em> <em>that</em> <em>true</em><em>?</em>  <em>Especially</em> <em>for</em> <em>Anywhere Club Blog career adviser Amina Idigova debunks the most popular misconceptions about <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">work in IT</a>.</em></p><p><img data-image="w1qeazzul73q" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltc44e380d0a0b9d84/626053309c7f8d323dec14cf/AMINA.jpeg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltc44e380d0a0b9d84" alt="Amina Idigova"></p><h3>Myth 1. On the course, they will teach me EVERYTHING</h3><ol></ol>
<p>Courses will give you:</p><ul><li>Training program. You will follow the steps in learning the technology stack and complete specially designed tasks appropriate to your level.</li><li>An experienced mentor. He will answer your questions and show you how to do the job correctly and where to look for mistakes.</li><li>Other students who will study with you. Students help each other, learn from mistakes, can see alternative approaches, and formulate a theory for each other more clearly.</li><li>Difficult practical tasks: term papers, graduation projects. They will allow you to train on tasks as close as possible to those that will be encountered in the workplace.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>However, students study in courses only on their own. Teachers just tell a small part of the theory, and mentors help to complete tasks.</p><h3>Myth 2. Only a person who understood mathematics at school can become a programmer</h3><ol></ol>
<p>Mathematics is used in programming theory but is minimally involved in the industry itself of information products development.</p>
<p>We need common sense, logic, consistency, and the ability to establish relationships with the technical system. Programming and IT, in general, are about business, engineering, building technical systems, attentiveness, immersion in the essence, and searching for a problem among a large number of fragile parts.</p>
<p>There may be elements of theoretical computer science in programming, but, as a rule, this is less than 5% of all work in the industry.</p><h3>Myth 3. You can make a lot of money in IT</h3><ol></ol>
<p>It is true. HOWEVER! People begin to receive maximum salaries after intensive 5-10 years in the profession. This usually goes hand in hand with having to work 50–80-hour weeks a couple of times a year.</p>
<p>What else? Constant self-education including books, articles, videos, and conferences. Moreover, a lot of effort into setting up experiments, working out mistakes, finding solutions, and solving problems.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">IT industry</a> is developing so fast that workers have to improve themselves all the time to just maintain their current level.</p><h3>Myth 4. You can learn English later</h3><ol></ol>
<p>English in programming is the main language of code logic, a study of documentation and communication. Documentation, code, tutorials, YouTube videos, Google searches, and communication with the customer will be in English. Without the skills of fluent reading, writing, and minimal speaking skills, it is almost impossible to master the profession.</p>
<p>Developers with the skill of googling a problem with a code in English and fluently reading answers find answers about 2-10 times faster than those who try to find an answer in Russian.</p>
<p>One more thing: the documentation for most new tools and technologies is created only in English for the first couple of years and only then is translated into Russian.</p><h3>Myth 5. Programmers spend all day programming and do not communicate with anyone</h3><ol></ol>
<p>Many people wrongly believe that working in IT looks like this: you sit in a corner at the computer, no one touches you, and you don’t touch anyone. This conception has nothing to do with reality.</p>
<p>The key skill of an engineer is to correctly understand the task he is given. Finding out what the essence of the task is, and what customer problem you can solve with code, is on average up to 20-30% of the daily tasks of a software engineer.</p>
<p>To achieve this understanding, you need to:</p><ul><li>Be able to read between the lines and extract the requirements that are meant.</li><li>Guess what is meant by yourself and check it with the manager or mentor.</li><li>Independently make many small decisions that may be wrong but are necessary to work on the task.</li><li>Make mistakes and learn to talk about them in time.</li><li>See which solutions are not as simple as they may seem at first glance and clarify the correctness of the solution with the customer.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>The code solves people's problems, but you can only understand what exactly these problems are in the process of communication.<br></p>


<p>If you have questions about the IT industry, visit our <a href="https://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord server </a>and ask our experts.</p>

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Many people think that in IT you earn an exorbitant amount of money, others are convinced that it is out of their depth. But is that true? Especially for Anywhere Club Blog career adviser Amina Idigova debunks the most popular misconceptions about work in IT.

5 Myths About IT: True or False?

Many people think that in IT you earn an exorbitant amount of money, others are convinced that it is out of their depth. Is that true?

5 myths about IT: true or false?

<h2>"You Need Not Suffer, but to Live": 5 Common Questions About Change and Relocation Answered by a Psychologist </h2>
<p><em>Psychologist Olga Losich, who works with both IT specialists and representatives of other professions, regularly answers questions on Instagram that are asked by worried people in countries around the world. The Anywhere Club blog publishes some of the most common questions and responses from a professional. </em></p><p><img data-image="p8si50upqcoy" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt52d2fce812fd8dd8/6261369cb686513d9157b473/IMG_9674.JPG" data-sys-asset-uid="blt52d2fce812fd8dd8" alt="Olga Losich"></p><h3>Should I leave the country I live in now?</h3>
<p>— There is no one-size-fits-all advice here. What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another. So, when you make your decision, it is important not to be guided by trends or panic. Emigration is a very difficult life event, it adds new stress to the stress that is already there. The bottom-line question is: what do you lose here, and what do you gain there? Emigration is justified if you gain more (albeit in the future) by moving than you lose by staying. Therefore, it is necessary to answer the questions: "What are the specifics of my situation? What do I acquire by going there, and what do I lose by staying here?"</p><h3>— What if you are just tired of weighing arguments about <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation</a>?</h3>
<p>— There will always be doubts. Our brain is wired to weigh everything and argue. In such an unsettled situation, when both options seem to be equally good or bad, it is necessary to make a strong-willed decision. And that will be the final decision! By this we mean first you make a decision, and then your brain will perfectly argue for it. Once that happens, you no longer weigh anything, but instead focus on its implementation. It's like you have no other option: there is only this choice, you’ve made it, and now you need not suffer, but live.</p><h3>— How do I overcome the fear of adapting to a new country?</h3>
<p>— To adapt to another country, you need to set aside reluctance and resistance, and accept that the only possible path is to adapt. If you want to live – really live - and not suffer in exile (since you did emigrate), you have no other option but to adapt. We must give ourselves that setting. People who say they cannot adapt do not really want to do so. Their focus is not on adaptation, and not on what they can do to move themselves forward, but instead is on their past experiences, sadness, and longing for their homeland.</p><h3>— How do I cope with my fear of change? </h3>
<p>— Fear of change is absolutely normal. Our brain does not like new things: new things mean that you have to strain, to rebuild. Therefore, recognize and accept your fear and continue to go and do, despite the fear. Give yourself the chance to move on and up, and welcome new experiences.</p><h3>— We are going to move to another country. How do we deal with the fear of the unknown?</h3>
<p>— The unknown is now our reality. We need to learn how to live with it. Eliminate all expectations, realize that events may unfold in completely unanticipated ways. Accepting this will help you more easily survive surprises. Identify the things that you can control now, resolve those issues, and move forward with the understanding that you will decide everything as it arises in the course of events. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. We can do this.</p>

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Psychologist Olga Losich, who works with both IT specialists and representatives of other professions, regularly answers questions on Instagram that are asked by worried people in countries around the world. The Anywhere Club blog publishes some of the most common questions and responses from a professional.

"You Need not Suffer, but to Live": 5 Common Questions about Change and Relocation Answered by a Psychologist

How can you overcome a fear of change? Some tips from the psychologist

5 popular questions to a psychologist

<h1>What to Read and Watch for a Novice Java engineer</h1>
<p><em>Java guru Aleksei Konahav shares useful sources of information for those who want to become a Java developer, specially for Anywhere Club.</em></p>
<p>— All materials can be accessed in both Russian and English. It is assumed that information in English should not stop you. Also, if there is an option to read the original in English or its translation into Russian, preference should be given to the first option, says Aleksei.</p><p><strong><strong><strong><img data-image="6qmkxi7ggrwt" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt2197f2e1323219e1/627a6454c6feae170ff6ab03/konahav.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt2197f2e1323219e1" alt="Aleksei Konahav"></strong></strong></strong></p><h3><strong>What books should you read to learn about Java?</strong></h3>
<p>— <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/java-a-beginners/9781260463569/" target="_blank">Java: A Beginner’s Guide</a>,  <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/java-the-complete/9781260463422/" target="_blank">Java: The Complete Reference</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Java-4th-Bruce-Eckel/dp/0131872486" target="_blank">Thinking in Java</a>, or <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/core-java-volume/9780137673810/" target="_blank">Core Java, Volume 1: Fundamentals</a>. You can start <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/learn" target="_blank">learning </a>the Java language with these books, if you are starting with a basic understanding of Java. Take any of them and start reading: if you like it, continue, if you do not understand or see that the writing is too complicated, try another.</p>
<p>For complete newcomers, the potential list of books is much wider. For example, <a href="https://javarush.ru/groups/posts/top-7-knig-po-java" target="_blank">in this article</a>, there are 10 books: you can read the book descriptions and decide which one suits you. It makes sense to google books for beginners, and here those listed are the generally accepted ones. Aleksei himself has read them and that’s why they have been recommended.</p>
<p>Moreover, here are some books for more advanced professionals.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/java-8-in/9781617291999/" target="_blank">Java 8 in Action</a> — Here you can learn more about features introduced in Java from version 8. In general, it would be much faster to read articles about Java 8 features. However, if you prefer to learn this topic in-depth, then this is the book for you. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/effective-java/9780134686097/" target="_blank">Effective Java</a> — Another classic from the Java world. It will help you to broaden your horizons in Java and look at many things from a slightly different perspective.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/head-first-design/0596007124/" target="_blank">Head First Design Patterns</a> — Well-suited to improve knowledge of programming patterns and OOP in general, while all the examples in the book are in Java.</p>
<p>“And there are a thousand more books on Java that you can google and some of which I haven’t even read, so I can’t advise,” – Aleksei honestly admits.</p><h3><strong>What can you watch to learn about Java?</strong></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwcDaxeEINadGe-w5FWL9Aho5EqwsHCsq" target="_blank">Java Core</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoij6udfBncioun9-sBwpkpTit1SIhWko" target="_blank">Junior Java Developer</a> — these video courses answered a very large number of questions about Java and also helped Aleksei to deepen his knowledge of the language.</p>
<p>He didn’t have any other useful links for video courses, but advised googling “Java course” or “Java lessons” and choosing a suitable option that looks appealing to you, as there are many to choose from.</p>
<p>More niche resources include the official channels of the big conferences, where you can find a lot of useful material. All that content will rather be designed for a savvy audience. </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/JUGru/videos" target="_blank">JUG.ru</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/SpringSourceDev/videos" target="_blank">SpringDeveloper</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Devoxx2015/videos" target="_blank">Devoxx</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaGHGAZiSwb8if6yfBF4NLA/videos" target="_blank">jeeconf</a></li></ul>
<p></p><h3><strong>Are there good courses, schools, or websites on Java?</strong></h3>
<p><a href="https://mjc.school/" target="_blank">MJC School</a> — there is no educational information on the school website at all, so the <a href="https://github.com/mjc-school/MJC-School" target="_blank">GitHub repository of school</a> is of particular interest. To Aleksei’s knowledge, this initiative is not yet fully ready and “just starting to learn” from the available materials is not so easy. But what is already there can be used for learning. </p>
<p>There are lots of courses. You can try <a href="https://training.epam.com/#!/Home?lang=en" target="_blank">EPAM</a> trainings. With google as your tool, <a href="https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-free-courses-to-learn-java-in-2019-22d1f33a3915" target="_blank">you can find good articles</a> with lists of free courses that will help you to learn Java. Most of them will be on Udemy. <a href="https://javarush.ru/" target="_blank">JavaRush</a> is also quite suitable; part of the course is free and there are a lot of tasks on the site, so it’s definitely worth a try.</p>
<p>There are countless websites where you can learn more about Java. Aleksei highlighted three that he refers to from time to time: <a href="https://habr.com/ru/hub/java/" target="_blank">habr</a>, <a href="https://medium.com/tag/java" target="_blank">medium</a>, and <a href="https://dzone.com/java-jdk-development-tutorials-tools-news" target="_blank">dzone</a>.</p>
<p>There are also sites where you can practice your knowledge of the language on simple (and not so) tasks, and you can do this in many languages. These websites include <a href="https://www.hackerrank.com/" target="_blank">hackerrank,</a> <a href="https://www.codewars.com/" target="_blank">codewars</a>, and <a href="https://www.codingame.com/start" target="_blank">codingame</a>.</p><h3><strong>A Java community: where can you join?</strong></h3>
<p>You can find many communities on <a href="https://wearecommunity.io/" target="_blank">wearecommunity.io</a>, e.g. <a href="https://wearecommunity.io/communities/mjc" target="_blank">MJC</a>, where you can join, actively participate in, and improve your Java skills.</p>
<p>There are many local and global communities, perhaps even in your city, people connect to discuss Java. It can be searched. Aleksei joked that he envies those who haven’t joined them yet.</p><h3><strong>Motivational advice from Ale</strong><strong>ksei</strong><strong>:</strong></h3><ul><li>“Remember that reading a book is good, but if you do nothing else, then there is little point in it. When learning something, you need practice, so consolidate new knowledge by solving tasks or using them in your project.”</li><li>“The Java language itself is not complicated, the standard library of the language is easy to study, but there are countless libraries and frameworks for Java. At the same time, in addition to Java itself, you need to know (or at least understand) a lot of related topics, without which, it will be difficult to find a job.”</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>When building your learning plan, of course, start with the language itself and the simplest algorithmic tasks, and then move on to more complex concepts such as OOP, patterns, and everything else. After learning the language itself and its standard library, be sure to spend time learning related things such as version control, relational databases, basic web development, algorithms, and data structures.</p>
<p>No one expects you to have expert knowledge in these areas, just a general understanding of the basics is enough. At the very last stage, study the frameworks and libraries directly, while keeping in mind that some frameworks are built based on others, and in this case, it is better to figure out what is hidden most deeply and then move on to something higher-level.</p><ul><li>One of the most effective and fastest language learning options is courses with a mentor or person to review your code and tell you what you did right and what needs more work. Even if you are learning the language on your own, try to find more experienced colleagues who can be asked about incomprehensible things.</li><li>It is difficult to say which material is right for you and which training option will be the most effective for you. What works for one person may not work for you at all. Be motivated, take the time to study, and be sure to achieve your goal – you will succeed!</li></ul><div><br></div>
<p>Anywhere Club appreciates Aleksei for the guide and is happy to announce that Aleksei Konahav became the first guest of the ITBeard Shorts special project: welcome!</p><ul></ul><iframe style="width: 500px; height: 281px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/N5UNYJ-4CZM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p><br></p>

<p>More details about Java on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/AnywhereClub" target="_blank">YouTube</a> channel in «<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/djKJGXjrWAo">Author-party</a>» program.</p>
<p><br></p>

konahav.png

Java guru Aleksei Konahav shares useful sources of information for those who want to become a Java developer, specially for Anywhere Club.

What to Read and Watch for a Novice Java Engineer

Useful sources of information for those who want to become a Java developer

Useful info java

<h1>I Was a Complete Novice but Became a Superstar: How to Become a Tester and Grow in the Community</h1>
<p><em>How do you quickly <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">start in IT</a>? What knowledge do you need? What do you do first? The Anywhere Club blog asked these questions of Natalia Nechaeva, who has been working as a manual tester in Test.io for 5 years. She has grown from zero to hero tester, moved to the Czech Republic from Ukraine recently, and has continued working even during her maternity leave.</em></p>
<p><img data-image="inn4n842k5f3" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt2d03ef99b98321da/6283418b6f3dd96ef703a779/MicrosoftTeams-image.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt2d03ef99b98321da" alt="testio_natalia.png"></p><h3><br></h3><h3>Beginning of a journey</h3>
<p>Natalia Nechaeva: </p>
<p>—&nbsp;I entered the university with a mathematical specialty and a focus on IT. The IT focus was not very strong, there was more emphasis on mathematics. Then, I started to work as an engineer. After that, I accidentally came across Test IO and began to earn extra money on the side. After 2-3 months, I realized that I could earn more freelancing than I could at my main job. I decided to quit my primary job - even though at first, I didn’t really succeed in testing. Everything was incomprehensible to me. But I stubbornly read the Test IO Academy: reviewing everything that was there.</p><h3>Test IO Academy</h3>
<p>Test IO Academy is a <a href="https://academy.test.io/" target="_blank">knowledge base</a> base for testers. There is a large amount of valuable information, new articles, and courses. Now, every tester who registers has access to two training courses. The knowledge base and courses are constantly updated and supplemented, so even experienced testers find something new for themselves.</p>
<p>When I started, there wasn’t anything like this. There was only an onboarding test where you reported 3 bugs – then it was welcome to live tests. Now, all the conditions have been created to allow someone to start in this area quickly and easily. At the Academy, everything is very clearly written, you just need to read it once or twice, pass easy tests, and you will soon be admitted to live tests and start earning your first money.</p><h3>What else did help?</h3>
<p>I watched several video tutorials and took courses in Ukraine. The courses, by the way, were only so-so, but they did give me some minimal understanding: they explained what a bug is, for example (laughs). When there were difficult and incomprehensible situations, the support of the Test IO community really helped.</p><h3>A good cycle</h3>
<p>Not long after I started, I had a good cycle: I managed to report a lot of bugs, which meant that I made good money. I bought an iPhone. After this purchase, work became even better: both in the sense that I was happier and better qualitatively. This was only three months after I was a complete newcomer in testing. Six months later, I bought an iPad and worked even better. </p>
<p>I was glad that I could afford to buy new devices but, at the same time, it was an investment in work: the mobile market is developing rapidly and many products are released on mobile devices, including Apple. As a result, there is more demand for testing. In general, the more diverse devices you have, the better. I began to work more actively. I was getting pretty good, and I was noticed.</p><h3>How to become a superstar</h3>
<p>All testers can be divided into two categories: just testers and superstars - great testers who constantly provide high quality work. I quickly became one of the strong testers. I knew that Test.io could always rely on me. This developed gradually: thanks to feedback from team leaders, test organizers, and so on.</p><h3>Work from anywhere</h3>
<p>Now I have gone on maternity leave. Activity, has become less, since I am focusing on the baby.</p>
<p>In this situation, it is also very convenient to <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">work</a>! These days, you can work from anywhere in the world. I sometimes worked in a car or a train. If you have a smartphone, and access to the Internet, you can easily participate in testing the application: just download it and report bugs. You can work all day, or you can choose a day when you do not work. Nobody is forcing you. Everything depends on your level of desire.</p>

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How do you quickly start in IT? What knowledge do you need? What do you do first? The Anywhere Club blog asked these questions of Natalia Nechaeva, who has been working as a manual tester in Test.io for 5 years. She has grown from zero to hero tester, moved to the Czech Republic from Ukraine recently, and has continued working even during her maternity leave.

I Was a Complete Novice but Became a Superstar: How to Become a Tester and Grow in the Community

How do you quickly start in IT? What knowledge do you need? What do you do first?

How to become a tester

<h2>"They Already Organize Festivals for Techies!": the Reality and Myths of Life in Turkey</h2>
<p><em>How to rent an apartment in Turkey? How much are oranges? Is there a well-developed IT community already? On the eve of the event, <a href="https://t.me/pmclub">PMCLUB</a> founders Dmitry and Valeria Ilyenkovy gave details on life in Antalya exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="c3ozbm08pw36" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt421d91c5419d66db/627a3a9732c3bb66f3f29776/алания.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt421d91c5419d66db" alt="Dmitry and Valeria Ilyenkovy"></p>
<h3><br>ABOUT PREPARING FOR <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/turkey" target="_blank">RELOCATION</a></h3>
<p>— We moved in last September. What provoked it? As is usually the case, several aspects led to this decision at once. Firstly, I had always wanted to try living abroad — such an exciting experience. Secondly, the Moscow climate was not very good. The atmosphere's thickening around me also had an impact. I felt it was time to leave as if it could be "too late." A few years ago, I read Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago, and ever since then, I have not let go of the fear that I would not have time to leave, - says <a href="https://instagram.com/ilenkov_dmitry">Dmitry</a>. </p>
<p>— It took us two years to think about it and make plans. With the pandemic, we traveled much less and were forced to pay more attention to what surrounded us. We used to love our apartment in Moscow: it was in a great neighborhood, we loved strolling in the nearest park, we thought everything was great and couldn't get any better. But after the pandemic, we became pretty tired and started noticing flaws everywhere: it annoyed us that the entrance hall was poorly cleaned, and the winds blowing from Leningradka were everything but the sea breeze, <a href="https://instagram.com/valeriya.ilenkova">Valeria</a> adds. </p>
<p>In this atmosphere, we kept our eyes open and collected options of where we could go, preferably without a visa and with a cat. Three months before the departure, we began to prepare more actively. Prepare our cat, to be more exact. And give out things. We have accumulated an incredible amount of stuff in the 3 or 4 years that we lived in this apartment. We took boxes out into the entryway every day; people took them, we brought new ones, and it repeated daily. We gave a lot of things to children, our parents, and acquaintances. I remember this mysterious process: we took and took something out, but things wouldn't end. </p>
<p>Lera: </p>
<p>— We came here with one big suitcase and a small one with the cat's stuff. And backpacks with a carrier. Still, it turned out that there was no need to take some things, such as clothes. They are way cheaper here.</p>
<p> Dima:</p>
<p>— The overall conclusion is this: don't take anything with you to Turkey - except your electronic equipment. </p><p><img data-image="9bfwbw3p91rv" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt98a06df2b408af1e/627a3a97726e3315b16b44aa/2022-04-28_14.23.14.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt98a06df2b408af1e" alt="Turkey"></p><h3>WHY TURKEY? </h3>
<p>Dima: </p>
<p>— We came to <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/turkey" target="_blank">Turkey</a> by the method of elimination. We wanted safety and to live near the sea. We rejected faraway and exotic countries. We thought about Europe, but we understood that we would be stuck there for a couple of years until we obtained a residence permit. Plus, there are high taxes; it was a deterrent. We thought of the Balkans, too, but the discussion went this way: Serbia has no sea, and Montenegro is too tiny. Transcaucasia did not work out either: Tbilisi is a great city, but it is not on the sea. Batumi has the sea, but it's not Tbilisi. That's how we ended up here. </p>
<p>Lera: </p>
<p>— At that time, you could obtain a residence permit in Turkey quite quickly. So we thought that first, we would try to live here, and if we changed our minds, we would move on. </p>

<p>Dima: </p>
<p>—&nbsp;We bought the tickets a week before departure and rented an apartment hotel just the day before. What did we get as a result? Antalya has a fantastic climate. It can be burning in summer, but it is incredible the rest of the year. Antalya is a million-person city with a population of 1.5 million people in winter. - it's a metropolis with everything you could want from it. Antalya is a European city - it was a wow fact for us. And the prices at the time we arrived were lower than in Moscow</p>
<h3>ABOUT RENTING </h3>
<p>Lera:</p>
<p>—&nbsp;We arrived, checked into a hotel, and started monitoring the local long-term rental website sahibinden.com. The next day we saw an ad for a gorgeous apartment: it had a 3D tour as though from an architectural render. We called and came to see it: and it was the same as in this 3D tour, with a new renovation, leased for the first time. We settled immediately. And then the agent told us: you have to pay the first month's deposit plus two extra deposits, plus the realtor's commission. But we had already paid for the hotel for two more weeks.</p>
<p>Dima: </p>
<p>—&nbsp;Actually, we caught ourselves not trusting people. We offered to pay one deposit and the rest on the day of check-in. But he disagreed, so we parted. In the evening, I called the agent again: I thanked him for his work, said that I would be happy to work with him again (he owns a family business), and added that if the owner changed his mind, we would be pleased to meet again... It seems that the communication magic worked, and the next day we signed a contract. </p>
<p>You really can understand apartment owners: they're scared, too. Many people from the CIS countries suddenly arrive and want to rent an apartment. You have no idea what they are doing at their computers, where they get their money from, whether they will leave in two months. Turkish law declares that the tenant is always right. Even if you stop paying the rent, they'll evict you through the court only next year. Letting tenants into the house is a significant risk for landlords: they must ensure that renters are reasonable people and will pay. </p><h3>HOUSING PRICES</h3>
<p>Dima:  </p>
<p>—&nbsp;We rented an apartment in a nice quiet area for 400 euros: it has a bedroom, living room, guest room, kitchen, and a large balcony. The distance to the sea is 50 meters. But now there are no such prices. </p>
<p>Lera: </p>
<p>—&nbsp;Everything changed a lot after the war started: a considerable flow of people; prices for apartments rose unrealistically. What was rented for 200 euros before now costs about 1000 euros. There are very few apartments, and people complain that it's hard to find a place to live. </p>
<p>Dima: </p>
<p>—&nbsp;Our acquaintances recently visited us, and now they rent an empty, not furnished apartment an hour by bus from the sea for 500 euros. Our apartment probably costs three times as much now. </p>
<p>Lera:</p>
<p>—&nbsp;At the same time, many places require payment for a year or six months in advance. In general, the situation has changed dramatically. </p><h3>FOOD AND RESTAURANTS PRICES</h3>
<p>—&nbsp;In the last year, things got more expensive, but the prices are still fair. For example, milk costs 1 euro per liter, and you could find it even cheaper. Fruit depends on the season. In autumn, oranges, lemons, tangerines, and pomegranates grow in the street; they cost a penny, roughly 30 euro cents per kilo of tangerines. But even now, a kilo of oranges costs 50 euro cents in the supermarket and even less at the market. </p>

<p>Lera:</p>
<p>— The dinner in a Turkish restaurant costs 200 lire; it could be more inexpensive. Meat/fish, salad, tea - 150-200 lire, which means you pay within 15 euros for two. A kebab costs 4 euros. The soup is 2 euros. Tea - 30-50 cents. Going to a more European place will be twice as expensive, around 30 Euros.</p><p><img data-image="maqhfkml3zjj" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt2f9cbb2bb8b2201e/627a3a97a2ba2e13583be424/турецкий_завтрак.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt2f9cbb2bb8b2201e" alt="Turkey food"></p>
<p> Dima: </p>
<p>— Yesterday I tried paella, it cost 120 lire. That's about 9 euros. A fine plate of paella with seafood. But it's expensive by local standards as it was in a pricey restaurant and with expensive cars at the entrance. Then dessert, several teas, two coffees, gin, and one more with whiskey - all reached 40 euros. </p><h3>BE PREPARED</h3>
<p>Dima:  </p>
<p>— All the "electronics" here will be more expensive. And the car will be 2-3 times more expensive. </p>
<p>Lera:</p>
<p>— You can't bring your phone into the country, put a Turkish SIM card in it, and think you've fooled everybody. To make your phone work here, you have to register it within 120 days and pay the tax: somewhere around 200 euros now. It's better to be ready to buy a phone for a local sim already in Turkey. </p><h3>LEISURE </h3>
<p>Lera:</p>
<p>— In terms of travel, it's excellent here, especially if you drive a car.</p>
<p>Dima: </p>
<p>— You can rent a car. And it's considered expensive - and it's costly in the summer. But in winter, you can communicate, bargain, and look for options. </p>
<p>Lera:</p>
<p>— The most incredible thing is finding Turkish friends and traveling with them. There are a lot of waterfalls, ancient cities, and canyons - everything is stunning. You can easily find something historical and enjoy nature. There is even the Lycian Way nearby. <br></p><p><img data-image="xytgcdczt6r2" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt60af69be6060c822/627a3a974fcc2d07c2a58486/Водохранилище_рядом_с_городом._Бегали_вокруг_него_с_друзьями.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt60af69be6060c822" alt="Turkey nature"></p>
<p> Our friend from Belgium drove to the ski resort, and it took 20 minutes by car to get there.</p>
<p>Dima:</p>
<p>— You always have places in Turkey to discover. I got to the airport and flew to Cappadocia, Izmir. In the Eastern part, there are a lot of exciting cities, which are very different from what we see here. There are no problems here when speaking about leisure and travel.</p><h3>STEREOTYPES</h3>
<p>Dima: </p>
<p>— We had a stereotype that Turkey is a religious country. Yes, there are a lot of mosques, and they call for prayer five times a day. But Antalya, Izmir, and other cities along the coast are more secular. Everyone wears shorts and tops. Also, many people think that dogs are not ok here because other Muslim countries have a tricky attitude towards them. We had a workout on the boardwalk yesterday, and a big dog just laid down on my mat. I was petting her, and she was playing. There are a lot of street dogs here, and they are groomed, but some are obese. Most are vaccinated. </p><p><img data-image="ahnr2ja28mmw" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt2dc78efca8c012d4/627a562a11a67766f42c0e52/2022-04-28_14.22.06.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt2dc78efca8c012d4" alt="Turkey beach"></p>

<p>Lera:<br></p>
<p>— We thought we would arrive and everyone would start scamming us for money. The first month, we were on high alert: double-checked receipts in cafes and the store's change. It took us time to relax and get used to the fact that if people invite you for tea, ask how you are doing, or smile, they do it sincerely. When we moved in, the neighbors started bringing goodies. Some people brought a pie; some people brought dolma. We couldn't understand: what's going on, how to behave? It was shocking - we had never encountered anything like this in Russia.</p>
<p>We asked a local friend what kind of phone to buy to get a local SIM card, and he brought us two old iPhones that same evening: just like that. That's the proper behavior for Turks. </p>
<p>The realtor arranged the Internet for us. We say: how can we repay you? He answered: what do you mean by that? You already said, "thank you." </p><h3>THE INTERNET</h3>
<p>Lera: </p>
<p>— If you don't have a residence permit, you can't provide the Internet by yourself - you need a Turk to help you. Not everyone knows about this, and it is a shock to many people. The second point is that not all houses have average Internet speeds. In our house, it is slow: 25 Mpbs on the download. In some places, it's better, but sometimes it's worse. And this is an essential point for IT professionals, especially those who work with serious software: I don't know how they survive. I guess it's possible to do something with it.</p><p><img data-image="o1ioynlz6ky7" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt747d8ff03c6c44c2/627a3a97e9dae965bdbcb122/Picture_1.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt747d8ff03c6c44c2" alt="Picture"></p><h3>COMMUNITY</h3>
<p>— People start joining <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/turkey/community_and_activities" target="_blank">relocation groups </a>even before they arrive. A friend of ours created the "<a href="https://t.me/gototr">Moving to Turkey</a>" chat room on Telegram, and now she has over 11,000 followers. It's full of essentials: what to expect, what documents to take, how to move. Communities of interest started to form from this chat: someone found a company to discuss crypto, someone went to a bar. IT experts also created a separate community. But frankly, it's all just forming now. Even two years ago, there were not as many IT specialists as now. Many arrived recently, and naturally, communities began to form. There are a lot of telegram chats: dedicated purely to IT and other things - but also filled with techies. Tomorrow we're going on a picnic with Belarusians, mostly from IT - our mutual friends have invited us. Life is in full swing!</p>
<p>The other day we learned that there was a lecture hall for digital nomads - in a cafe where we previously gathered with another community. The IT community is growing right before our eyes. We have friends in Alanya, and when we visited them back in winter, they said: everything is fantastic but boring, we have only three IT families here. Now they sent me a link to a chat room - and some festival for IT people is already being prepared. Music, networking, everything. Although three months ago there was nothing at all. I know that EPAM brought many people to Turkey; a friend of ours moved to Izmir from Moscow. </p><p><img data-image="qget2n5un4al" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt0b1f463c8955fca0/627a562bfc4b08092fd6b7f2/Настоящий_open_space.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt0b1f463c8955fca0" alt="Work"></p>
<p>Important advice - do not get stuck in the Russian community, no matter how much you like it. It would help if you made local friends. They can explain how everything works, dispel your fears, and show you the best places. <br></p>


Main.png

How to rent an apartment in Turkey? How much are oranges? Is there a well-developed IT community already? On the eve of the event, PMCLUB founders Dmitry and Valeria Ilyenkovy gave details on life in Antalya exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.

"They Already Organize Festivals for Techies!": the Reality and Myths of Life in Turkey

How to rent an apartment in Turkey? How much are oranges? Is there a well-developed IT community already?

The reality and myths of life in Turkey

<h1><strong>"Content Plus Live Communication": Blogger IT Beard Recorded a Video Message on Behalf of the Anywhere Club IT Community </strong></h1>
<p><em>Today, Lex IT Beard's video message was released on the official <a href="https://youtu.be/RYnsxrthPBQ" target="_blank">YouTube Anywhere Club</a> channel: in it, the blogger talks about the mission of the new community, explains why Discord is chosen as the platform for communication and how everything will work. We publish its content. </em></p><p><img data-image="xyse0qzybyfd" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltbdd7440306eec491/6260316447a87d408d38d1b9/ITBeard12.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltbdd7440306eec491" alt="Lex IT Beard"></p>
<p>«Hi everyone! My name’s Lex, I am the leader of Anywhere Club Community Team. </p>
<p><a href="https://aw.club/global/en" target="_blank">Anywhere Club</a> brings together a range of online platforms and opportunities that can boost your IT potential. The club provides access to educational content, job offers, and professional community. <br> </p>
<p>This professional <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/community" target="_blank">community</a> is exactly the focus of Anywhere Club community team. Whether you are following us on social networks, participating in events or contributing to community development — you are a part of it, you are a member. You don’t need Anywhere Club membership to be one. Just join our conversations, grow as a professional, lend your expertise to other participants or help us build the community.</p>
<p>So what is this community all about? Why not just register at aw.club and explore the opportunities it offers? Easy. No project is alive until it has a space for natural, informal human communication. This is what we are here for: to make sure we hear what you are saying, and that you always have a place to go when you have questions, want to get advice or help out other community members, etc. This is a place where you can start a real-time discussion about education, relocation, work and personal development in IT – anything IT-related that comes to your mind.</p>
<p>How does Anywhere Club community function? Simply put, it relies on the combination of quality content and live chats. To make this possible, we had to choose a fitting platform. So we picked Discord. It’s an intuitive platform which many of you are familiar with – similar to Slack, but with enhanced functionality for socializing and holding online events. For those of you who are new to this platform, we’ve compiled text and video guides on how to get started. In about 15 minutes, you’ll get the grip of Discord.</p>
<p>Our own <a href="http://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a> server has its own infrastructure, upon which we are constantly improving. It is perfect for communicating in multiple languages as well as holding online events like interviews and meetups with club members or prominent people from the world of IT. We record all the events and upload the recordings to our YouTube channel, so subscribe to keep track of all the useful content! </p>
<p>Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what Anywhere Club community is, what it is all about and how it works. Build your IT career with pleasure — and with our help! And join Discord, too. See you soon!»</p><iframe style="width: 500px; height: 281px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/y90kHcq5gFI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

ITBeard12.jpg

Today, Lex IT Beard's video message was released on the official YouTube Anywhere Club channel: in it, the blogger talks about the mission of the new community, explains why Discord is chosen as the platform for communication and how everything will work. We publish its content.

"Content Plus Live Communication": Blogger IT Beard Recorded a Video Message on Behalf of the Anywhere Club IT Community

Blogger explains why Discord is chosen as the platform for communication and how everything will work

Blogger IT Beard  recorded a video message

<h2>Relocation Is Like the First Child's Birth:&nbsp;5 Psychological Phases of Adaptation</h2>
<p><em>Euphoria, tourism, getting around, depression and stabilization&nbsp;</em>—&nbsp;<em>this is how the emigrant's path looks simplified. Psychologist Galina Bobko talks about the stages of the <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation</a> and the moments you should be prepared for. Exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog. </em></p><p><img data-image="6hk07fp0o8p0" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blte107547486d7f0e8/628b2faa23df9062d742244e/IMG_0008.JPG" data-sys-asset-uid="blte107547486d7f0e8" alt="IMG_0008.JPG"></p>
<p>—&nbsp;My family and I moved from Minsk to Vilnius in 2021. We experienced both the first joys and the difficulties of relocation. Including psychological, which comes with the packed luggage —&nbsp;says Galina Bobko, —&nbsp;I am a practicing psychologist, and last summer, I conducted a study as part of my training: I examined families who have moved to other countries. My analysis was devoted to what level of family adaptation families live through at different stages of relocation. It turned out that the emotional difficulties that families faced the first time after moving to a new place were typical for families when they had their first child. </p>
<p>What are the similarities? New challenges must be met, and new rules must be worked out. The family must simultaneously discuss new contacts with the outside world alongside continuously solving internal management and communication problems. Relationships with new people are being formed. The family must deal with hospitals and schools and re-establish the "kilometer zero" infrastructure with proper stores, customary services, and favorite foods. Going through the adaptation process in another country, the family must find appropriate ways to maintain a balance while contributing to the development of the family.</p>
<p>Whether we want it or not, moving to another country will still refer to a crisis in its scope and impact our growth. </p>
<p>The cycle of living a crisis is very similar to the classic coping with grief. But, like any cycle, this process is finite and has every chance of ending with successful integration into a new society.</p>
<p>Relocation adaptation can be divided into five stages. </p><h3>Phase 1: Euphoria</h3>
<p>Duration: from several days to several months</p>
<p>In this phase, primarily positive emotions predominate. A person feels relief from the first big successful step. Such things as difficult choices, the preparation of documents, the relocation itself, and the search for a new home left behind. It took a lot of effort to convince relatives that this decision was correct. The accomplishment is enormous! This is basically the riskiest and most challenging step for some people. A moment when you want to exhale and reward yourself.</p><h3>Phase 2: Tourism </h3>
<p>Duration: 1-3 months</p>
<p>During this phase, people learn about the visible surface of an unfamiliar society: houses, transport, streets, advertisements, and way of life. As a rule, they like it all very much. During this period, the attractive aspects of the new life are noted, and every detail seems interesting. Impressions of the move are expressed by enthusiastic phrases, for example: "Can you imagine, everything is different here, such friendly people, clean entrances, everyone smiles at us, not like at home!"</p>
<p>The influx of positive energy could be helpful in two ways: to establish routines and expand social connections. On the one hand, it will help reduce the initial disorganization and chaos that can be overwhelming in the first weeks, and on the other hand, active networking and joining local communities can help when you no longer have the energy or time to do so.</p><h3>Phase 3: Getting Around</h3>
<p>Duration: 3-6 months</p>
<p>There is a constant process of overcoming stress in this phase. It is the gap between what is desired and what is real. Many questions arise that are difficult to answer. A relatively minor problem or conflict can become very significant. Something you would have reacted to calmly at home seems to worsen. Some migrants feel like "deaf-mute unemployed." One ceases to feel like a master of one's own destiny. For the first time, people ask themselves, "What am I doing here? Should I drop everything and go back?"</p>
<p>The advice is not to take impulsive actions. Rely on the settled routine and relationships by this time. This will help you learn survival skills more quickly by imitating what's around you and feeling more confident in your new circumstances.</p><h3>Phase 4: Depression</h3>
<p>Duration: from 3 months to 2 years</p>
<p>As a rule, all migrants go through this phase regardless of how successfully they overcome the previous adaptation phases. It is a reaction to a prolonged impact of stress factors: change of habitual life stereotypes, feelings of separation and nostalgia, loss of social status, and dissatisfaction with self-realization within different activities. </p>
<p>This is the most challenging phase since, in addition to everyday organizational differences, we begin to notice that our values, ideas, and problems are different from what is vital to the locals. In contrast to the initial stages of adaptation, we begin to convince ourselves that everything turns out to be the opposite, that everything here is wrong, that people here are evil, do not understand anything about trivial things, that the difference between you is vast and close communication becomes impossible.</p>
<p>Detachment, isolation, and reluctance to communicate are characteristic of this stage. There is a considerable temptation to shrink into oneself, shut down, and cut off much that has been done by this time. It is most dangerous to get stuck here. If you notice that this condition lasts more than 1-2 months, don't hesitate to seek help from specialists.</p>
<p>The best thing you can do is force yourself to communicate with locals, attend local events, speak the local language, and gradually integrate into the community.</p><h3>Phase 5: Stabilization or productive interaction </h3>
<p>Duration —&nbsp;the person can come to this stage in a year after moving, in more severe adaptation scenarios —&nbsp;in several years.</p>
<p>Overcoming the depressive stage hinge on the degree of activity and the level of social adaptation. There comes an understanding that you do not need to live the life of the locals: it is enough to know why what is normal for them seems alien to you. A state of comfort, emotional stability, and equilibrium become possible here. </p><h3>This too, shall pass!</h3>
<p>If you find yourself at any of the stages, great! Now you can orient in what has already passed and what may lie ahead. It is reassuring and encouraging that everyone goes through such a cycle when relocating and that it is finite. In most cases, it ends with acquiring new adaptation skills, connections, and new opportunities under challenging conditions.<br></p>

<p>Visit our <a href="http://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a> channel to discuss <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation</a> and many other topics!</p>

main_5psy_relocate-2.png

Euphoria, tourism, getting around, depression and stabilization - this is how the emigrant's path looks simplified. Psychologist Galina Bobko talks about the stages of the relocation and the moments you should be prepared for. Exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.

Relocation is like the first child's birth: 5 psychological phases of adaptation.

Relocation is Like the First Child's Birth: 5 Psychological Phases of Adaptation

5 psychological phases of adaptation

<h2>To Learn How to Write Code, You Have to Write Code: How to Get Into IT?</h2>
<p><em>Make money, relocate, get married — no, it's not someone's New Year's wish list: these are actual reasons people give when describing why they got into IT. </em><em>Career Development Mentor Amina Idigova speaks on the top reasons people get into IT and what it takes with the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="4tezq5mjbbai" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt46e9e8e9e3c98e0a/628b3cfa2b65657f139d6cb7/amina_idigova_3.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt46e9e8e9e3c98e0a" alt="amina_idigova_3.png"></p><h3><em><br></em>Why do people choose their path in IT?<br></h3>
<p>According to most surveys, people strive to <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">get into IT</a> for various reasons, primarily because of high pay and high demand for IT professionals. It fully corresponds to reality: both parameters tend to grow steadily, even in a crisis — and especially in a crisis. </p>
<p>Undoubtedly, working remotely, high international employability, and the opportunity to grow professionally make IT a tidbit. Finally, it is possible to find a job without a diploma in the IT field, as it's crucial what you <em>actually</em> do, but not your papers and certificates. </p>
<p>Surprisingly, many people in IT are drawn to the opportunity to get married successfully! These thoughts are not wholly groundless: the statistics of large IT companies show that from 8 to 17% of employees are married to each other or are in a relationship.</p>
<p>The barrier to entry has decreased within the last few years, which could only attract more people to the field. While the complexity of the tasks that the IT industry solves has grown, the ways of implementing these tasks have become more accessible. Numerous frameworks, accelerators, and libraries have appeared. Development became a constructor, where part of the functionality is assembled from ready-made "cubes," like Lego.</p><h3>How You Can Get Into IT </h3>
<p>Today, almost anyone with any <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">specialization</a> and at any age can get into IT as long as they are ready to learn English (at least up to B2 level) and agree to work 10-12 hours a day for the first 12-18 months to get applied experience in real projects. </p>
<p>A critical skill for entering the profession is being proficient in googling. Being able to search for information on the Internet gives you a serious competitive advantage at the start. Knowing how to find information in English is almost a guarantee of success. At some point, it may be surprising that it's possible to find practically any code you need, and all that is left is to compile the required functionality from this constructor.</p>
<p>Critical skills such as the willingness to try, make mistakes and ask questions, the desire to start, and the ability not to quit (when the first difficulties appear) become critical when getting into IT. </p><p><img data-image="88mna3s7skxx" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt2573b4a31168cc8d/628b3cfa4862177718019134/percents_eng.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt2573b4a31168cc8d" alt="percents_eng.png"></p>
<p>The specialization does not matter much as each IT profession has its challenges. Every work has tedious parts, obstacles, and a constant demand to grow and learn new things. </p>
<p>Three signs that tell that this profession is right for you: </p><ol><li>This field shows an upward trend. Look at the ratings like TIOBE/PYPL, study charts of the most successful startups, trend reports from major global consulting companies like Gartner, and request analytics from the top courses (such as Coursera's). Most importantly - make sure that the technology is in demand and the demand is growing.</li><li>The field should resonate with you - arouse interest and curiosity.</li><li>Working in this field adds "trendiness" in the eyes of people that matter: your close ones, opinion leaders, the professional community.</li></ol><h3>Which path to choose? </h3>
<p>To understand which specialization is the most desirable, it is better to look at the development cycle and realize which fields are relevant at what stages.</p><p><img data-image="jtnza2v3md9p" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt3c58501337a97a9e/628b3cfa6f3dd96ef703ae31/sdlc_eng.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt3c58501337a97a9e" alt="sdlc_eng.png"></p>
<p>In IT, many <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">areas</a> are not directly related to writing code beyond project development.</p><p><img data-image="m0sqrqzcx7mo" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltc51ccd8e3952493e/628b3cfa310f057723242e16/specs_eng.png" data-sys-asset-uid="bltc51ccd8e3952493e" alt="specs_eng.png"></p>
<p>A step-by-step plan for entering IT looks like this:</p><p><img data-image="sem7zo9xbo71" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt9eca7d25392e6787/628b3cfabcee916ef642a3b8/algorythm_eng.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt9eca7d25392e6787" alt="algorythm_eng.png"></p>
<p>The hardest part is to choose your direction. Almost 60 % of those who want to study IT get eliminated initially, as the Internet is overloaded with IT courses or vacancies. Still, it is almost always unclear which of these will suit you and which specialization to choose. </p>
<p>The truth is that at such an early stage, there is not much difference. Whatever IT profession you choose, you will feel difficulty and the desire to quit at the very beginning of your studies. It may seem that you are not made for this, but that is a long way off from reality. Any new profession will cause similar difficulties at the beginning. Usually, this stage is crushed not by the smartest ones but by the most persistent ones. I advise you to decide if you plan to "study" or "learn." You can study for years, but you have to put in the effort and time to learn.</p>
<p>You can't say that any professions are easier to learn or less responsible. Some extend others. For example, it's almost impossible to become a Data engineer without development experience, and it's hard to become a DevOps engineer without a systems engineer experience.</p>
<p>It, therefore, seems unfair to say that it is easier to get into IT through testing or business analysis. There are thousands of people who are successful in totally different IT disciplines. </p>
<p>You couldn't simplify things and say that investing time into learning JavaScript or Python is more "strategic" than learning other development languages. It's not true: all technologies change and evolve; it's impossible to study something and then rest on your laurels. You will have to retrain constantly - at least once a year, as everything becomes obsolete quickly.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that for the Senior Developers, after three years of experience, the technology becomes secondary; usually, by that time, they already know several development languages and have much expertise in them - primarily out of a desire to peek and borrow something.</p>
<p>So it doesn't matter which technology you choose when entering IT. All professions are closely intertwined and depend on each other.</p>
<p>You'll find that the beauty and logic of code is a very creative task, almost like design. Designers, in their turn, need to understand how their solution will look in an application, so experience with development is equally essential for them.</p>
<p>Business analysts implement business logic by writing clickable wireframes, which is a scripting skill. Testers automate some of their work so that they can stumble without knowing any programming language, too. </p>
<p>Marketing, in general, is impossible today without analytics and big data. Even recruiters write scripted Boolean queries to build a more focused candidate search.</p>
<p>More than 60% of IT students are "switchers" from other professions aged 35-51+: mostly financiers, lawyers, teachers, linguists, metallurgists, and doctors.</p>
<p>Many professions and technologies have long been closely intertwined. Today, almost all disciplines have turned into IT by a certain percentage, and this shift is constantly expanding.</p>
<p>You can enter IT through almost any available "door." After learning the basics, it will be easier to understand and switch to a more appropriate specialization. Don't be lazy and not look for excuses or clichés like "I'm not a techie." The theory of multiple intelligences proved that there is no such thing as a "humanitarian" or "technician" mindset.</p>
<p>No one will hand you a profession on a silver platter. You will have to work hard and learn everywhere — and all the time. Many studies confirm that an expert differs from a non-expert in the amount of applied practice. An expert practices 17 times more. I wish that, at least in IT, there was some magic pill that integrates knowledge directly into your brain, but unfortunately, there is no such thing. To learn how to write code - you have to write code. Before work, during work, and after work. Researchers call this phenomenon deliberate practice - "practice beyond practice."</p>
<p>Suppose a person can find patterns, identify connections, see the structure, determine the order and understand that an equation is the same metaphor that can describe an application architecture, a tune, a design, a business model, and many other things. In that case, they will become an expert in any field.</p>

<p>We invite you to ask questions about IT to our community in <a href="http://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a>.</p>

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Make money, relocate, get married - no, it's not someone's New Year's wish list: these are actual reasons people give when describing why they got into IT. 
Career Development Mentor Amina Idigova speaks on the top reasons people get into IT and what it takes with the Anywhere Club blog.

Make money, relocate, get married - no, it's not someone's New Year's wish list: these are actual reasons people give when describing why they got into IT.  Career Development Mentor Amina Idigova speaks on the top reasons people get into IT and what it takes with the Anywhere Club blog.

To learn how to write code, you have to write code: how to get into IT?

To Learn How to Write Code, You Have to Write Code: How to Get into IT?

How to get into IT

<h2>"Prepare Your White Cardboard": What You Need to Know to Relocate to Serbia</h2>
<p><em><strong></strong>How to move to Serbia? What documents do I need when moving from Russia? Is it safe? Where to relax? These and other questions, such as how much a BMW e46, Peugeot 207, and AlfaRomeo 159 cost in Serbia, are answered by Anton Karzhavin, Senior Business Analysis Manager at EPAM. </em><em><br></em></p><p><img data-image="nn8512vu616f" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt553ca57f68f08d7b/628f4d88d2ea9c6d8e573a0f/photo_2022-05-20_15-29-58.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt553ca57f68f08d7b" alt="Anton Karzhavin"></p>
<p><em><br></em></p><h3>Why Serbia?</h3>
<p>— I like good food, travel, and cars. Everything came together in this place — Anton immediately indicated his priorities. </p>
<p>— <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">Relocation</a> for me is, first of all, an adventure: extraordinary, exciting, and with new opportunities. But it is important to take deliberate steps and not lose a lot of money on this path.</p>
<p>Initially, like any business analyst, I wanted to collect the critical factors for me when choosing a country: security, financial conditions, labor market/community, culture/leisure, and cost of living expenses. Write them out in a column, and fill in the coefficients: all the pros and cons must be comparable. Add to this table my current location and potential countries to move to. Then, after calculating the "total," it will immediately become clear that the countries with low security, poor labor market, and underdeveloped recreational opportunities are not an option for me. The other extreme is high security but a catastrophic drop in living standards. But there are exciting options among them. </p>
<p>It is possible to come to <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia" target="_blank">Serbia </a>without visas: for Russians, it is enough to have a valid passport — you can start applying for long-term residence status, residence permit, or even citizenship right on the spot. The country is good in terms of climate, geographical location, proximity to the customer's time zone and culture, widespread knowledge of English, and the affordable standard of living.</p><h3>Filling Out</h3>
<p>So, you arrive in the country, check into a hotel or apartment and start looking for permanent housing. This can take a week or two, depending on your wishes and budget. If you've set, the owner of the apartment should provide the following documents:</p><ul><li>"White cardboard" — the analog of temporary registration, for which you have to go to the police;</li><li>Your real estate contract (not necessary in all cases);</li><li>Long-term rental agreement (one year or more);</li><li>Your ID, from which you need to make a readout (I do not know what it is called in Russian, in English, it is called ID readout).</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>These documents allow you to open a bank account, and after that, you need to apply for a residence permit. With a residence permit, you can already buy a car or an apartment if you have such a desire. Then you need to issue a Work Permit (for this, you need a diploma and CV). By the way, the IT sector here is already negotiating a lower tax rate.</p><h3>Leisure and expenses</h3>
<p>— In Serbia, there are many opportunities for leisure and travel. There are five national parks, ten ski resorts, numerous trails for hiking, and a beach in the city center on the shores of Lake Sava. All kinds of sports are available - running, climbing, public volleyball courts, cycling, karting. Within a radius of 400 km, there are five countries where you can travel relatively inexpensively: even just for a weekend trip.</p><p><img data-image="pkvmnzb04xzl" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt1c8c341f6ce408ef/628f50ecb3f9f16d88a05262/IMG_2869.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt1c8c341f6ce408ef" alt="Serbia"></p>
<p>Food costs are, shall we say, usual: something is cheaper, something is more expensive. There are lots of restaurants and cafes, and the deliveries are good. Serbia is a meat territory. Everyone loves it and knows how to cook it, though my colleagues who have different diets have already found something tasty for themselves. There are many wineries near Belgrade, and their tours can be fascinating. </p>
<p>What impressed me was the car prices. Especially for convertibles, which are more of a luxury item in Russia, but here are quite usual. For example, a BMW e46 Cabrio can be found for 4,000-5,000 euros and a Peugeot 207 for 1,500-2,000 euros. A gorgeous station wagon AlfaRomeo 159 in good condition is about 3,500 euros. But it's necessary to consider that engines with a volume over 2.0 immediately double the annual tax. Gasoline here is expensive (and cabs, respectively, too), parking in the center is paid, and maintenance costs are higher. So if you use the car daily, it can be a significant expense. But as a weekend option — the expense can be shared with friends. Another option — if anyone's interested, of course - is a motorcycle.  </p><p><img data-image="revwyhgk22oa" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt7e39b26fba06586f/628f5a1d842aa97d937ef6a9/Picture_11.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt7e39b26fba06586f" alt="Serbia"></p><h3>Safety</h3>
<p>— Security indexes will tell you that Serbia is safe. And it's true. Nobody locks cars here, you can leave your phone on the table, walk away, come back, and nobody will take it away. I lived pretty far from the center, on Goce Delc'eva Street, where there is a lot of street food. One night a car pulled up with some guys in tracksuits and short haircuts. They were playing music quite loudly while waiting for their pleskavica (the national dish). I went up to them and told them the music was too loud. They immediately apologized and turned it off. </p>
<p>Although I'll be honest, Belgrade is a bit dirty; you can smoke everywhere (including in restaurants), and there's a lot of graffiti. The first impression is that a time machine took you back about 15 years. Music from those times, pay phones in the street, and everybody is used to paying in cash. People park on the sidewalk, don't let pedestrians pass, and break the traffic rules. But also they are very friendly and open, always ready to help. And it's very green everywhere!</p><h3>The Community</h3>
<p>— I've been living in Belgrade since March 3. At the same time, the IT market was already developed, and now a large number of other IT companies have moved here, so their <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia/community_and_activities" target="_blank">IT community</a> is already formed (conferences, labor market, communication environment, etc.). This means that you can find like-minded people, ready-made solutions, or somebody willing to help with any question that comes to your mind.<br></p>


<p>Want to learn more about <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia" target="_blank">Serbia</a>? Go to Anywhere Club's <a href="http://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a>, let's chat!</p>

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How to move to Serbia? What documents do I need when moving from Russia? Is it safe? Where to relax? These and other questions, such as how much a BMW e46, Peugeot 207, and AlfaRomeo 159 cost in Serbia, are answered by Anton Karzhavin, Senior Business Analysis Manager at EPAM.

"Prepare Your White Cardboard": What You Need to Know to Relocate to Serbia

How to move to Serbia? What documents do I need when moving from Russia? Is it safe? Where to relax?

relocate to Serbia

<h2>"I Didn't Plan to Find Bugs: They Found Me!". A Housewife Became a Tester Following Her Husband's Advice, and Now Even Their Child Can Detect Bugs</h2>
<p><em>Being a tester is a good <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">start in IT</a> and a perfect way to earn money if you work a lot and do it well. These are the words of Ekaterina Sablina from Donetsk, who shares her experience with the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="a8lgbqso3887" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt4b1b08fb62a24162/6297042e65d6fd6bd2acaf4c/sablina_(3).png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt4b1b08fb62a24162" alt="sablina_(3).png"></p><h3>Previous experience  </h3>
<p>It all began with financial problems. We were freelancers, but what we used to do for a living - or more specifically, my husband Vanya used to do, and I helped — ceased to be a viable option. We started to think about where and how we could make money.</p>
<p>We were doing everything, even selling on Amazon. Financially, it was a very negative experience. But it was still valuable: to understand how it all works from the inside - it was probably worth getting into it, at least for this knowledge. But it didn't work out because we didn't know where we were getting into. I even think that if I ever have the desire, the time, and the money, I would go back to that idea. At the time, I knew I must invest in buying and shipping products to Amazon, but I had no idea that I needed to invest in marketing ten times as much. We didn't consider that, so we didn't calculate our finances correctly. All in all, it was fun: listening in one ear to a course on online marketing that you urgently need and at the same time corresponding with a Chinese client. It was great but unpromising since we are not entrepreneurs; we are good employees. </p>
<p>At the same time, my brother, a programmer, pressured us: "You're doing nothing; it brings very little money; you need to learn something!" We replied that we had no time to study: we needed money to buy food.</p>
<p>Ivan knew that there are sites that do testing, and testers do not initially need any special knowledge. It was 2017.</p>
<p>So, Vanya just googled "testing," found <a href="https://test.io" target="_blank">Test IO</a> and several other popular sites, and registered on them. He quickly started working, finding bugs, and getting more and more immersed, though it seemed to me to be temporary until we found a "normal" job.</p><h3>About start in IT </h3>
<p>About six months later, my husband told me to register for Test IO. It was easier with reproductions; there were much fewer testers. You could make a couple of hundred euros a month doing it, which was good for us. My contribution to the family budget, even at a couple of hundred euros, was quite substantial. I was making reproductions on autopilot for probably half a year, and then I started getting bugs. I don't know how it happened; I didn't do anything for it. </p>
<p>With time I realized how testing works. It was a bit easier for me than the others because I had an IT education; my first education was in Programming Support. It wasn't actually "programming support" as we had an experimental specialty: technical disciplines combined with economic fields. The initial plan was good: to develop data systems to optimize and automate financial processes. But when our course graduates entered the labor market, it was nonsense. There should be two separately sufficient specialists: a programmer and an economist, working in tandem. So all of our graduates became either programmers, system administrators, or PC build technicians.  </p>
<p>I never worked in the field I was qualified for; I immediately got a job in a bank. At the same time, I got a second degree. Working in a bank was not my thing; I was bored there. Then I got married, and my husband said that I didn't have to work anymore. But I still had my education: I understood how a site is built, how an algorithm is written, and therefore, perhaps, mastering my profession was a bit easier for me than for the others. But the fact that you can start working without any special knowledge is all true. </p>
<p>After a while, I realized that I even liked it, and I was excited!</p>
<p>When the sales tests began, we detected a pattern: we were getting them at the same time, around 11 pm. So I was tuning myself to work at that hour. And that's how it happened. The schedule got a little out of sync, and we still can't get it right. Our child has the exact timetable; I don't get too upset. The school delivers distance education, and we can start at 10:00 or 11:00.  </p>
<p>I like writing usability reports the most: it's easy for me as a professional shopaholic with a lot of experience (laughs). Complicated, non-e-commerce products are more difficult for me, so I concentrate on what makes me feel good. And I always have a lot of ideas for improving online stores. When I write a usability report, I feel that this is not even a job but a way to relax. </p>
<p>  </p><h3>Testing growth</h3>
<p>Manual testing does not require knowing the product inside out. There are other kinds of testing where the tester has to understand how the program works and know programming languages. I'm so glad we don't need all that. We need effort and time, that's all. On our platform, you can start with minimal knowledge. It's a job for everyone; one can gain understanding within the process. </p>
<p>If you want to delve deeply into the subject, you can take free courses in HTML. But there are cases when it is excessive. We have one tester, he is a programmer. He finds a bug and thinks it is a bug because he evaluates it from the programmer's point of view. But it is a feature. However, it is an exceptional case when programming knowledge makes it difficult. For manual testing, you should generally understand how the language works, and there is plenty of information on it. </p>
<p>My activity in <a href="https://test.io" target="_blank">Test IO</a> was noticed, and I was offered a job in Discord support. It takes more time, but I'm happy. I've grown a lot. Now I have a fixed salary, which freelancers usually lack. Plus, there's also the opportunity to earn extra by participating in chosen tests. Now there is room for creativity. You can come up with a lot of activities. For example, we conduct professional and entertaining quizzes, and I am currently preparing one about astronomy.  </p>
<p>It was an acknowledgment that you can grow from a tester to a person who helps build a community. But the truth is that they always notice people who actively communicate and support others. They offer new opportunities to active specialists: to create educational content and help build the community. </p><p><img data-image="ry5tdzsoki95" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt6ed4ee66e833be7e/6297042e1acd652232a485a3/sablina_(5).png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt6ed4ee66e833be7e" alt="sablina_(5).png"></p>
<p>  </p>
<p>My husband came to <a href="https://test.io" target="_blank">Test IO</a> as a regular tester but has grown to almost full-time professional. I recommend this job to all my friends who live in Donetsk: there is not much work, but whoever wants it can make money because the opportunities are here. It may be more difficult for a tester to make money at Test IO than in 2017. But some resent that, and some work and make money.  </p><h3>A Young Tester</h3>
<p>Once, they sent us an app for kids; I think it was a cartoon. We were taking every task at that time. Besides, apps are better paid than websites. So we took it, and we had to go somewhere. We were in a hurry, but the app was good and had decent pay. What were we supposed to do? We had to test it somehow. So we installed it and gave it to our daughter. She was four at the time. We said, "Here's your phone; look for bugs." And she did the task! Though someone had found it before, we were proud of her. Another one turned out to be out of sсope. Nevertheless, we got the result. So our daughter now knows what a bug is. Sometimes it annoys her that her parents are home all the time, and they don't always play with her. How to explain that it is your working time? But the word bug has its magic: she is not sad about it and takes it casually.</p>

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Being a tester is a good start in IT and a perfect way to earn money if you work a lot and do it well. These are the words of Ekaterina Sablina from Donetsk, who shares her experience with the Anywhere Club blog.

"I Didn't Plan to Find Bugs: They Found Me!". A Housewife Became a Tester Following Her Husband's Advice, and Now Even Their Child Can Detect Bugs.

Being a tester is a good start in IT and a perfect way to earn money if you work a lot and do it well

Being a tester is a good start in IT

<h2>How to Find a Flat and Open a Bank Account: Tips for Relocating to Serbia</h2>
<p><em>On Friday, June 3, blogger IT-Boroda will hold an online event about relocation to Serbia with IT adventurer Alexander Galilov, "How are you there" (Discord registration is already open, the event will be in Russian language). On the eve of the event, he spoke about the documents for opening an account, the peculiarities of currency exchange, and the notorious Serbian "White Cardboard," exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><h3>How to get a registration</h3>
<p>— There is a mandatory registration for foreigners in <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia" target="_blank">Serbia</a>. When you arrive, you must register within 24 hours — it is called "White Cardboard". If you stay in a hotel, it can be done directly at the reception. The hotel may forget, but you need to remind that you need the registration as a foreigner. Then you can already look for an apartment without rushing, — said Alexander.</p>
<p>What do you need to register in the apartment? The two of you, or rather the three of you — the apartment owner, you, and your passport — should go to the local police station, to the foreigners' department. The owner must have their identity card and the certificate of registration of ownership of this housing. </p><p><img data-image="9bt0ch7i7lgb" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt0d6500e25d25d36f/629862fafc38db1a2c8647fd/IMG_20220501_193737.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt0d6500e25d25d36f" alt="Serbia"></p>
<p>If there is no queue and the officer can type quickly, it will take three minutes. "White card" is issued there immediately. And it does not matter the day of the week - you can come on Saturday or Sunday: the policeman on duty will put a mark. </p><h3>How to find a place to live</h3>
<p>— People usually turn to the real estate agencies' websites when they need accommodation. They differ by region. The most famous one is in the city of Niš, <a href="https://proagent.rs/.&nbsp;">https://proagent.rs/</a>.</p>
<p>When looking for a realtor, you must say: I am a foreigner; I need a "White Cardboard".&nbsp;This usually cuts off the most inadequate options. The realtor himself will explain everything to potential landlords in his native language.</p>
<p>A typical real estate rental agreement is drawn for precisely six months. The lease rules are standard: 50% of the monthly cost to the realtor + rent for the first month + a deposit equal to one month's rent - a total of 2.5 months of payment. All rents are in euros.</p>
<p>In Niš, a studio apartment with one separate bedroom in a house built two years ago will cost 350 euros per month. It's in the center of the city. In Belgrade, it's 20% more expensive. The prices are at the level of St. Petersburg or lower; you can't compare them to Moscow. I'd probably pay at least 600 euros for a similar apartment in Moscow. Or maybe as much as 1,000. </p><h3>How to open an account in a Serbian bank</h3>
<p>From my experience, the most accessible bank to open an account in Serbia is Raiffeisen. There are three main cities in <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia" target="_blank">Serbia</a>: Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš - choose one of them, go to the central office and ask to open an account. What documents do you need to bring?</p><ul><li>Your passport</li><li>Electronic invoices (in PDF) from your Russian or other bank accounts for six months to a year. It's vital to convince the bank manager that you have funds, and if suddenly you bring cash into the account, it should not look like you robbed someone here. You have to have an explanation for why you have the money. Prepare statements to show that you have receipts, or you're working, or you have some counterparties, and funds you want to put in the bank account have more or less legal origins. Without that, most likely, no one will open an account. If there's a working contract or something that shows you're legal, it's all worth enclosing.</li><li>"White Cardboard" is your registration. Don't take the paper from the hotel, it won't do - 70%-80% chance that the bank will turn you down: you are in the hotel, so you do not need anything for a while. When you leave the country and make a new "White cardboard," you don't need to give the new data to your bank because they have already created your account.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>There is no need to print the documents. An employee of the bank will give you a corporate email address to which you can send them.</p>
<p>There are other banks, but from the experience of my friends, they either take much time, refuse your application right away, or unhurriedly review your application and then refuse it. I heard of a positive experience in the bank AIK Banka; my friend opened an account within ten days. For me, it took four days to open an account with Raiffeisen. You should expect that it takes 5-10 days to open an account. I recommend going to Raiffeisen and not experimenting with others - it is also good because there are no problems with English there. If your Serbian is weak, everyone can speak English at the central branches, even the entrance guard.</p><h3>Money</h3>
<p>If you leave Russia, you can take cash up to 10 thousand dollars in the equivalent of any currency. Money transfers are not possible.</p>
<p>In all cases except renting apartments, prices are in dinars inside the country. The exchange rates can vary by 4-5%. There's no cheating here. For example, there won't be such a thing as currency exchange at the rate of 50, while the standard rate&nbsp;is 80. They differentiate at some points, but not too much.</p>
<p>Better to exchange cash in exchange offices than to have a bank account and use the conversion in the banking system. The difference will be 5-6%.</p><h3>What it takes to be officially employed and become a private entrepreneur</h3>
<p>There are two ways –&nbsp;the IT specialist will compete with citizens for jobs, or he is bringing his business. If you go for employment, you have to get a foreigner's work permit. Your potential employer has to prove to the local authorities why he needs you, not a local citizen.</p>
<p>I haven't been employed since 2006, so I can't give you all the details. If you're on your own but regularly get money into your account, you have to become a private entrepreneur; in Serbian, it is "preduzetnik." It is better to hire a lawyer and an accountant to register it. Reporting for fixed-tax individual entrepreneurship is no more complicated here than in Russia on the simplified tax system (USN). It is simple, but you don't know it, so you need an accountant. He will ask between 40 and 50 euros for his services. Taxes depend on the region.</p>
<p>The idea of this system is that you pay the equivalent of about 250 euros a month, and you can earn up to 51 thousand euros a year. If it comes out more, you have to keep a cash book. If you make more, for example, 80 thousand, you need to switch to the general taxation system with VAT and other joys. The scheme is similar to the Russian one, perhaps the Belarusian one.</p>
<p>Suppose you are an individual entrepreneur here, and you have some particular taxation system. According to Russian law, as long as you are not abroad for 183 days or more, you remain a tax resident of Russia and have to pay tax in Russia on all your foreign income. However, you will probably still violate Russian currency regulations. The double taxation treaty does not apply if you are an entrepreneur here on a special privileged regime. You will pay tax in Serbia and another 13% of personal income tax in Russia.</p><p><img data-image="jpz242w0gept" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt57be9d6d2fcc7fa0/629862faa0239a1ba73e6286/MicrosoftTeams-image_(9).png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt57be9d6d2fcc7fa0" alt="Serbia"></p><h3>Language</h3>
<p>It is a myth if someone says that everyone will understand you here in Russian and English. In Russian, you have to repeat the phrase many times with different synonyms to be somehow understood. Young people speak English, but not all of them. People of middle and older age speak primarily Serbian. I recommend not to use Google-translator from Russian to Serbian; it is weak. From English to Serbian and from Serbian to English, you have the chance to understand each other.</p>
<p>You will learn simple Serbian phrases pretty quickly. Serbian is worth knowing if you plan to stay for a longer period - six months or more. The language is complex in that it is similar to other Slavic languages but different from them. For example, they actively use the verb "to be" - "biti" in Serbian, which is almost reduced in Russian. Many words are similar to Russian but differ in meanings. For example, "pozornica" is a theater scene. The theater is "pozorište". If there were no such similarities, maybe it would be easier.</p>
<p>If you say a couple of phrases in Serbian, locals will be shocked that you can't continue them. It's not that difficult for Russian speakers to learn to pronounce local words correctly, but pronunciation is different. </p>
<p>You can pretend to be local when talking to a cashier - as long as it doesn't go beyond 3-5 standard expressions. If it does, I have a kind of brain freeze; I get that I don't get it. And the salesman doesn't get what I don't get.<br></p>

<p>You can ask&nbsp;more questions about&nbsp;relocation to Serbia on <a href="https://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">our Discord server</a>.</p>

IT adventurer Alexander Galilov spoke about the documents for opening an account in Serbia, the peculiarities of currency exchange and the notorious "White Cardboard" exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.

How to Find a Flat and Open a Bank Account: Tips for Relocating to Serbia

How to find a flat, open a bank account, and other life hacks

tips for relocating to Serbia

<h2>Relocation-2022: Which Countries Are the Best for IT Specialists? </h2>
<p><em>Serbia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Hungary, or maybe Colombia or Mexico? What country to choose for relocation? How to calculate expenses? Feature owner of page "Relocation" on Anywhere Club Nick Murphy talks about how they created Relocate tab for aw.сlub, its benefits, and how it will be updated in the future.</em></p><p><img data-image="s6vzcy69gzjk" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt15634e514157c0a0/629a132fe3a1232c7605d22c/main_relo.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt15634e514157c0a0" alt="main_relo.png"></p><h3>Where to relocate?</h3>
<p>Where and how to <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate">relocate</a>? IT professionals of different qualifications often ask these questions. Aw.club offers the first answers and real opportunities to move to 6 countries so far: the list and offers will be updated. </p>
<p>— Since March 2022, we have been noticing a great demand for information about relocation from Belarus, Russia, and other countries, and we want to help aw.club members choose the best destination if they have already decided to move. We have a massive database of relocation data that we collected from the experience of our friends, communities, and partners. We took some indicators (such as the average standard of living in different countries) from public sources and matched them with reality. Each guide includes general information about the location, culture, climate, standard of living, data about taxes, and approximate expenses on housing, food, and children's education. All the information we tried to organize and put in an understandable format. Today you can find guides on six countries — Turkey, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Hungary, Colombia, and Mexico; soon, we'll add Spain and Montenegro. Our team constantly updates this list, and we are working on collecting information on other countries very actively. We invite all club members to discuss which destinations they would like to see on the Relocate page next in our Discord channel, — says Nick Murphy. </p><h3>How does the relocation process take place?</h3>
<p>In addition to the information block, aw. Club has worked out the possibility of relocation for those who are more concerned not with "where" but "how": one of the possible options is to relocate with the help of a partner.</p>
<p>— On our website, you can see the block "Special Relocation Program" — how does it work? If an aw.club user wants to relocate and is ready to work for a partner, they fill out a relocation form. A partner receives the application and processes it. If a job offer for the candidate's specialty and qualifications appears, an applicant will be required to have an interview. Then the candidate goes through all the stages, and if he accepts the offer, the company will relocate him, — says Nick. </p>
<p>Starting conditions for getting into this program (except the desire) are middle+ in the specialty, B1+ level of English, and willingness to live in another country for at least a year. </p>
<p>— Today people look for a new home in all parts of the world. IT specialists move from Warsaw to New York, from Singapore to Vilnius, from Minsk to Malaga, and vice versa: the main thing is to have a computer and Internet access; you choose the location. We are glad we could integrate this program into our website and make the potential relocation easier for our club members, — says Nick. </p><h3>Adaptation process</h3>
<p>Aw.club has launched two <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/volunteer">volunteer projects</a> with a mission to facilitate the adaptation process in a new country. </p>
<p>— One of these projects is Coworking Map. It was designed as a map for finding the nearest workplace with stable Internet and printer in a new location. While developing it, we realized that we could expand its functionality. After all, when you come to a new country, you need to rebuild your life from scratch, but you don't want to give up the familiar rituals you loved so much in the past. For example, you probably want to know where to find a good hairdresser, who organizes the best meet-ups, which co-working spaces are the most convenient, where the tastiest coffee is, etc. So we came up with the idea to create a map with "points" from people who already have this information. </p>
<p>— Another project we are currently developing is an instruction manual in Notion. The idea is that people who have relocated or are professionally involved in it will help with writing and keeping a complete, up-to-date manual on how to move to different countries. It would seem to overlap with the guides we've put together, but it's still other format and type of information: one thing is general information and key facts, another is information on where to make an apostille, find housing, what sim-card to buy, what is the vet's number, etc.</p><h3>What's next?</h3>
<p>— Our mission for the future is to make it easier to choose the country to move to for the club members and make relocation as comfortable as possible. For example, our immediate plans - and we are already implementing them — are to add to our site the ability to compare countries by the standard of living and costs and integrate a tax calculator. </p>
<p>In our Discord, you will find online events with relocants led by blogger IT-Beard and FrontSpot community leader Victor Shelenchenko. We also post their records on our YouTube channel and prepare blog articles about moving to different countries: join us. We have a busy calendar!</p>
<p>We are open to partners who can help people adjust to a new environment - whether it helps with moving or it is legal advice on obtaining permanent residency in one country or another.</p>
<p>We'd love it if you tell us what information in Relocate tab you'd like to see. </p>
<p>Your feedback in our <a href="http://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a> is highly appreciated!</p>

main_relo.png

Serbia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Hungary, or maybe Colombia or Mexico? What country to choose for relocation? How to calculate expenses? Feature owner of page "Relocation" on Anywhere Club Nick Murphy talks about how they created Relocate tab for aw.сlub, its benefits, and how it will be updated in the future.

Relocation-2022: Which Countries Are the Best for IT Specialists?

Serbia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Hungary, or maybe Colombia or Mexico?

Which Countries are the best for IT Specialists?

<h2>Android: What Should Beginners and Experienced Professionals Do?  </h2>
<p><em>What are the top Android development trends? Where to start learning? What are the promising technologies you should pay attention to? Artem Bagritsevich, an Android engineer with ten years of experience, who now works at EPAM, answers these and other questions exclusively for Anywhere Club.</em></p><p><img data-image="txpb4tg5o9d6" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltcd99ed042884a909/6298b2b02a55557fe14d4323/MicrosoftTeams-image_(13).png" data-sys-asset-uid="bltcd99ed042884a909" alt="Artem Bagritsevich"></p><h3><em><br></em>How to become an Android developer</h3>
<p>— Of course, you can find a lot of sources of information these days: books, articles, lectures, documentation. Understandably, it can be difficult for a future developer to decide. My advice would be to start with an Android Developer Roadmap, but they come in all kinds. I like <a href="https://github.com/skydoves/android-developer-roadmap" target="_blank">Stream's Roadmap</a>: it's the most complete and logical.<br></p>
<p>There are also links to the company's blog, where each step is examined in detail.</p>
<p>There's also a <a href="https://roadmap.sh/android" target="_blank">roadmap.sh</a> resource: they offer a slightly different path. The good side is that in addition to Android, you can also master version control systems: any developer needs to know and be able to use them. From my point of view, this roadmap is more accessible because it skips some deep topics that are difficult for a beginner to understand - HAL and the Linux kernel, for example.</p>
<p>Both sources suggest starting with programming languages, and here I recommend choosing Kotlin: all modern development is done with it. As for Java, you will still have to learn JVM basics, memory layout, and garbage collection (GC). The language's syntax won't be as important as understanding the basics because Kotlin runs on the JVM, and everything under the hood stays the same.</p>
<p>To learn the language, I highly recommend the free <a href="https://hyperskill.org/tracks/18?_gl=1%2a7f7lhs%2a_ga%2aMTIyOTA2Ni4xNjQ5MDE4NjQ1%2a_ga_J6T75801PF%2aMTY0OTY3NTU2OC4yLjEuMTY0OTY3NTU3Ni4w&_ga=2.68630609.1778831226.1649675569-1229066.1649018645" target="_blank">official course</a> from its creators.<br></p>
<p>It will teach you the basics, data types, and object-oriented programming.</p><h3>What to read and where to learn </h3>
<p>As I said above, there are many sources available on the market, but, for example, books quickly become outdated: I would not recommend using them. Articles on the Internet also promptly lose relevance, so it is essential to pay attention to the date of their publication. Everything rapidly changes in IT and Android development; what we had ten or five years ago and what we see now are entirely different things: different tools, languages, libraries, and architectural approaches.</p>
<p>Many courses promise to make you a superstar from scratch in a few months. Don't be fooled by that. I have run a free course on Android development at Rolling Scopes (https://rs.school/) more than once, and I know that in a few months, students only begin to master the programming language and solve fundamental problems. To become an expert, you need to get hands-on experience, develop several complex applications using modern approaches, and learn the theory. Only after that comes the understanding of how the system works and what the capabilities and limitations it holds. On average, it took us a year to train a Junior specialist. Yes, everything depends on the specific person, motivation, and amount of time given. You can accelerate learning, but still, we are not talking about a few months. </p>
<p>Again: start with the study of Kotlin; even at this stage, you will understand whether you like development in general. And then, having basic knowledge, it is much easier to make up your mind.</p>
<p>Then you can go step by step by the roadmap: looking for and finding needed information is one of the critical skills for android developer.</p>
<p>I highly recommend the <a href="https://developer.android.com/docs" target="_blank">official documentation</a>, as well as <a href="https://codelabs.developers.google.com/?cat=Android" target="_blank">codelabs</a> from Google.</p>
<p>After that, all you have to do is gain experience, write new applications, and keep up with changes in technology and updates. I bookmarked: </p><h3>Top 3 sources to keep track of </h3><ul><li><a href="https://androidbroadcast.dev" target="_blank">Android Broadcast</a>&nbsp;has an excellent Telegram channel, it covers all the significant events in Android development, and they invite interesting guests to their YouTube channel. I can also recommend a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0SwNXKJbuNkYFUda5rlA-odAVyWItRCP" target="_blank">course on Dagger 2 </a>from the channel's author;</li><li>Another source is, of course, the official <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVHFbqXqoYvEWM1Ddxl0QDg" target="_blank">Android Developers YouTube channel</a>;</li><li>I don't think any Android developer will miss the leading <a href="https://io.google/2022/" target="_blank">Google I/O conference</a>. It reveals many of the things the company's employees have been working on all year;</li><li>It's essential to attend the sessions on changes to the new version of Android - Google usually arranges them specially for developers. During the conference, there are also a lot of events, workshops, and other development and learning-oriented activities.</li></ul>
<p></p><h3>Android Developer Group on Discord </h3>
<p>Nothing helps you grow like working on a real project. Or at least a learning project, but under a mentor's supervision. At our school, we always trust experienced developers to check assignments at the last stage and help junior android developers. Try to find yourself an experienced mentor: it will be much easier to learn. For example, you can join our group on<a href="https://discord.gg/AzKUfTZ" target="_blank"> Discord</a>, where we are always ready to help.&nbsp;<br></p><h3>What if I'm already an Android developer?</h3>
<ul><li>All the same: be sure to review the roadmap; maybe there are gaps in your knowledge that can be filled by just taking a couple of codelabs. Keep an eye on technology developments, too. Plus, help new developers: that way, you'll get valuable mentorship experience, and you'll be able to remember some things you don't work with every day.</li><li>The world of development is changing, and if everyone was praising MVPs a couple of years ago, now that approach is being criticized. It's time for UDF architectures and declarative UI, so I suggest everyone look at Jetpack Compose. I'm sure that it will become a standard in a few years - just as ConstraintLayout is now a standard. You shouldn't be afraid of these changes - you need to get used to them and learn new approaches.</li><li>Another trend is cross-platform and code reuse. There are many cross-platform frameworks on the market, such as ReactNative, Xamarin, and Flutter: they've taken some market share from native development, but it's not that bad. Native apps still have advantages: UI/UX, performance, and platform integrations. Let's not forget that we can reuse code too. Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile is another thing that attention should be paid to: this technology is already popular on the market, and its capabilities are constantly growing.</li><li>Multimodularity. Perhaps everyone is trying to get away from the monolith and split the app into smaller parts that are easier to maintain. If your app has more than a few screens, it's worth thinking about.</li></ul>
<p><br></p>

<p>Join the Anywhere Club <a href="https://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a> channel, and feel free to discuss the article&nbsp;or ask your questions!  </p>

main_android.png

What are the top Android development trends? Where to start learning? What are the promising technologies you should pay attention to? Artem Bagritsevich, an Android engineer with ten years of experience, who now works at EPAM, answers these and other questions exclusively for Anywhere Club.

Android: What Should Beginners and Experienced Professionals Do?

What are the top Android development trends? Where to start learning? What are the technologies you should pay attention to?

How to become an Android developer

<h2>White Chevrolet Kingdom: How Do Expatriates Live in Uzbekistan?  </h2>
<p><em>How much does it cost to live in Tashkent? How does the IT community develop? Why do cabs have no seat belts? Python developer Maxim Belov told the Anywhere Club blog how he was impressed with Uzbekistan.</em></p><p><img data-image="f9md5xitsdi5" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt0a0924d583e1459a/62a73dfaec26f179d6a1f7eb/UO1wbd16499512786465_b.jpeg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt0a0924d583e1459a" alt="Maxim Belov"></p><h3>EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY</h3>
<p>—&nbsp;I moved to <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/uzbekistan" target="_blank">Uzbekistan</a> in February 2022 with my family. Before that, I worked with Uzbekistan for about a year: I had my own developer unit there. I communicated with the locals every day and studied the region's peculiarities — the "country profile." But in reality, Uzbekistan still surprised me pleasantly, —&nbsp;says Maxim. </p><h3>HOUSING</h3>
<p>—&nbsp;On February 24, I bought tickets from Minsk to Tashkent in two hours, we quickly packed the necessary things, and in twenty-four hours, we were already in Uzbekistan. We flew on a half-empty plane and were practically the first relocated. I did all the logistics and looked for accommodation on my own. But after a week, employees of a local IT park began to meet the newcomers at the airport, give out SIM cards and help with finding accommodation, which is excellent. </p>
<p>I was supported by my colleagues. Through friends, we rented a three-room apartment in the city center for $500. Now the prices have gone up: quite a few people have arrived. A one-bedroom apartment costs about $500, and a two-bedroom apartment costs $700. </p>
<p>There are many other significant areas except downtown - and prices will be lower - but they must be inspected before you decide: the quality of life can vary depending on the location. You can also rent an apartment, not in Tashkent, but in Samarkand - one of the oldest cities in the world, and it will be significantly cheaper. </p>
<p>If someone is thinking of buying an apartment in Tashkent, the price will be lower than in Belarus: on average, $1,000 per square meter - and that's near the city center.</p><h3>MEDICINE</h3>
<p>—&nbsp;There is no problem with medicine. My wife was 26 weeks pregnant when we left. Even before we received the residence permit, we had my wife registered at the Center of Obstetrics and Gynecology. There is a fee for services there, but locals also pay it. She got registered at the district clinic for basic tests and examinations: it's free. The first time we lived in a hotel: the hotel always makes you the registration. Take it and your passport - and you will be immediately registered at a medical center.</p>
<p>Paid services are affordable. For example, an ultrasound with contrast will cost about $14, and an echogram —&nbsp;$8. I recently got myself vaccinated against coronavirus. The whole procedure was effortless and fast: I just called the clinic, found out about the availability of vaccinations, took the registration and a notebook for the card, came, and was processed and vaccinated for free. I did not wait in any lines. But this, apparently, depends on the polyclinic. </p><h3>EDUCATION</h3>
<p>— The level of education pleasantly surprised me. In Belarus, my son went to public school. Here, we sent him to a private school. The educational program is very advanced, and the choice of activity groups is great. He partook in many kids' activity groups in Minsk, but he had to be driven everywhere. Here he goes to school at 8:30 and finishes at 5:30 p.m. After classes, he attends activity clubs and sports sections. Meals included: it's all very convenient. </p>
<p>As for public schools, they are very different. There are strong schools with a better curriculum, and there are ordinary schools. I'm talking solely about elementary school, as I have a child in the second grade. You have to pass exams to enroll: Russian, literature, English, math, plus talk to a psychologist. There is a limit on the number of students in classes in private schools - 18 people. My child wasn't accepted to the math class, as there were enough students already. He was shifted to the linguistics class. Five English, four Russian, two German, and two Uzbek lessons per week. I help my son with Uzbek because I teach myself six hours a week. Since we're staying here for a long time, it's worth doing it out of respect for the country. </p>
<p>It was hard for my son the first week, but he got used to it. Children, in general, are very flexible; it's easier for them to adapt. The fun thing is that we always thought we had a very well-behaved child. He doesn't come athwart the elders, he never bullies, but he gets C's and B's for his behavior here. The school has an ethics course, where they deal with different situations —&nbsp;not the trivial ones, where it is clear what is good and what is wrong —&nbsp;but ones where there are half-tones and other options as the best way to act.</p>
<p>The fee is $350 a month, plus a one-time fee. </p>
<p>My son freely goes out into the yard and plays with the local kids. In school, kids accepted him right away and showed him where everything was in the school.  </p><h3>COMMUNITY</h3>
<p>— People in Uzbekistan are are amicable, and almost everyone speaks Russian. Whatever happens, they are always ready to help you. </p>
<p>Many IT specialists have already come to the country, with them my colleagues from EPAM. It is very convenient - our kids have someone to talk to and play with. </p>
<p>There are a lot of offline IT events: the IT park, EPAM and other IT representatives are the organizers. Once I was a speaker at a meeting of Python developers in Tashkent. </p><h3>ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE</h3>
<p>— Since I have a newborn daughter, most entertainment is closed for us. But in general, there are many opportunities for independent travel - mountains, deserts, many historical places with beautiful architecture. Tashkent is one of the greenest cities in the CIS, with many parks, although the locals disagree: they say it used to be much greener. </p><h3>DISADVANTAGES</h3>
<p>You can't <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/uzbekistan" target="_blank">relocate</a> without them.</p>
<p>— Driving culture is deficient. There are never any back belts in cabs, drivers are constantly running off, honking, not showing turns.</p>
<p>It's a kingdom of white Chevrolets for all tastes and wallets. The state has set very high import duties on cars. A foreign citizen can import his personal vehicle into Uzbekistan for only three months a year. In this case, the cost of customs clearance can exceed half the value of the car. It seems that this law is going to be changed. </p>
<p>It is often dirty in public places. They clean the city, but apparently it's polluted faster. Parks are significantly monitored, but trash could lie on the streets.</p>
<p>There is a problem with online shopping as there are few online stores. The service is not so good either. Deliveries take much time. </p>
<p>But all these disadvantages are offset by one big gift&nbsp;—&nbsp;my family is in a safe, friendly and warm country.<br></p>

<p>You can ask more questions about relocation to Uzbekistan on <a target="_blank" href="https://epa.ms/acd">our Discord server</a>.</p>

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How much does it cost to live in Tashkent? How does the IT community develop? Why do cabs have no seat belts? Python developer Maxim Belov told the Anywhere Club blog how he was impressed with Uzbekistan.

White Chevrolet Kingdom: How Do Expatriates Live in Uzbekistan?

How much does it cost to live in Tashkent? How does the IT community develop? Why do cabs have no seat belts?

How do expatriates live in Uzbekistan?

<h2><strong>What Is a Vocation</strong><strong>, and Does It Exist in 2022?</strong></h2>
<p><em>Career development mentor Amina Idigova told us what the profession consists of today, why the career ladder began to be called a lattice, and also revealed the secret of success especially for the Anywhere Club blog.</em><em><br></em></p><p><img data-image="2jx1bmit66h7" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt46e9e8e9e3c98e0a/628b3cfa2b65657f139d6cb7/amina_idigova_3.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt46e9e8e9e3c98e0a" alt="Amina Idigova"></p>
<p>Many people sincerely believe that everyone has their own “vocation”. That once you find yours, an insight will occur to you immediately, and your life will magically take shape by itself. People spend time on endless tests and consultations in search of that one thing in life that will give them meaning.</p>
<p>Numerous research studies confirm that vocation as such does not exist. Or at least that a vocation is not a starting point. Instead, a vocation is a destination. What you spent 10,000 hours on will become your vocation. Nobody was born Mozart, not even Mozart.<br></p>

<p>Instead of a vocation, there is a constant accumulation of experience, which we later endow with some value or meaning. The concept of vocation is a construct of interests, knowledge, and experiences that a person will reassemble with regularity throughout their life. Finding yourself is impossible. But you can create yourself.</p>
<p>In fact, what we call a vocation is the result of a complex web of inclinations, intuitive choices, regular practice, curiosity, opportunity, and chance gains that generate countless scenarios. The only thing that can be said with certainty about the “vocation” is that it transforms every second.</p>
<p>Another piece of bad news is that even if you find a profession you like, you still have to constantly change. The professions themselves remain, but their essence and content are constantly transforming with the development of technology. It is likely that you will never become an expert of great depth in anything. As soon as you get comfortable in a new profession, it suddenly seems that everything changed a long time ago. To paraphrase Alice in Wonderland: “Just to stand still, you need to run very fast, but to get somewhere, you need to run twice as fast.”</p><h3>Better to do than to do better<br></h3>
<p>The book " Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking" (D. Bayles, T. Orland, Y. Sergienko) describes an interesting experiment. In a pottery class, the teacher divided the students into two groups. He gave one group the task of sculpting pots “by weight.” The student who created 50 pounds of pots would receive the high mark. The second group was told to fashion only one pot, but of very high quality. They were to be judged by the quality of that one pot.</p>
<p>A funny thing happened. The highest quality pots among all the students were created <em>not</em> by the group that worked for quality, but by the group that worked for quantity. Why? They tried to do more, and learned from their mistakes in the process. Those who cared about quality spent a lot of time theorizing about what the "perfect" pot was, but their actual result was so-so.</p>
<p>It's the same with vocation. To master a new profession, it is very important:</p><ul><li>to be able to start</li><li>to not give up with the appearance of the first difficulties.</li></ul>
<p><br>It sounds trite, but you can consider the ability to start as 60% of your success. The ability not to quit is another 30%. Other factors such as knowledge, skills, connections, experience, money and more are the remaining 10% of success, but they can be neglected as long as you have the first two.</p>
<p>The main thing here is not to confuse stubbornness with perseverance. Stubbornness is when you do the same thing over and over again but expect a different result. Perseverance is when you experiment on the way to a result, and test different hypotheses for its implementation.</p><p><img data-image="eyf9uirnwg9e" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt4748bb3385a1a1cb/62ac692cc0057f7b0884f88b/graph_eng.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt4748bb3385a1a1cb" alt="competency and time"></p>
<p>It’s important to remain curious. Don’t be afraid to try, or be afraid to make mistakes. Don't wait for perfect solutions. Act. Generate, launch, and work out different ideas. Be able to change perspectives. Allow yourself to quickly fail and quickly correct your mistakes. Any training schedule shows that there are many ups and downs along the way, until you reach the conditional “productivity plateau”.</p><h3>Forward doesn’t mean up any more </h3><p><img data-image="lyy6xp9l7j96" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt0e5d0afd9e7bd9dd/62ac692c57c83c4a64e0aecb/stages_eng.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt0e5d0afd9e7bd9dd" alt="career stages"></p>
<p>The world is changing rapidly. The borders between professions are blurring. Today, one solid skill isn’t enough.</p>
<p>The profession today is a puzzle of many functional disciplines and the ability to flexibly switch between them. A career has ceased to be a “ladder,” and instead, it is a “career lattice.” This allows you to move in any direction: forward, backward, laterally, or even to another subject area. Forward doesn’t mean up anymore. Whatever diplomas you collect, you will not reach a magical point when you are done - you will have to study all your life. The only viable educational model in the 21st century is Lifelong Learning. The monopoly on knowledge no longer belongs to anyone, knowledge has become readily and widely available. The quantity of knowledge is growing exponentially and is limited only by your ability to turn it into applied skills. We can say that the era of knowledge is over, the era of thinking is beginning.</p>
<p>Instead of looking for a vocation, it's better to do a regular audit of your skills and abilities. Most of them can be divided into four different "suitcases":</p>
<p>In the first — everything related to a specific job, in a specific company. This includes knowledge of specific functionality for the position, knowledge of specific tools, and knowledge of the specific products and processes of the company.</p>
<p>In the second — general industry skills, including the understanding of a certain area of ​​business, (finance, logistics, education, or information technology, for example). In essence, this is the “mileage” for this industry, expressed in years (6 years in finance, 3 years in marketing, 2 years in IT, and so on).</p>
<p>In the third — your personal qualities and abilities, such as the ability to negotiate, manage projects and people, speak, teach, launch a product, calculate a business model, and much more.</p>
<p>In the fourth — your professional DNA, your own approach to tasks, your personal communication style, your special way of generating ideas and extricating yourself from difficult situations, your unique image, your charisma, and the atmosphere that you create with your presence. In other words, everything that can’t be copied. In this suitcase are all of your connections, all of your networking, and your personal reputation.</p>
<p>The good news is that in any unclear situation, your risk is limited to one suitcase — the first one. The remaining three will stay with you. They are your unsinkable, fireproof assets. Invest in fireproof capital that you can rely on in a crisis.</p>
<p>Don't chase your vocation, let your vocation chase you.</p>

<p>We invite you to ask questions about IT to our community in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://epa.ms/acd">Discord</a>&nbsp;and to find more information about jobs in IT in our section <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">Work</a>.</p>

Career development mentor Amina Idigova told us what the profession consists of today, why the career ladder began to be called a lattice, and also revealed the secret of success especially for the Anywhere Club blog.

What Is a Vocation, and Does It Exist in 2022?

vocation

<h2>"Home for Every IT Professional in the World": What is Anywhere Club, and How Does It Work?</h2>
<p><em>Why do engineers and newcomers help each other? What are the mission and goals of this ambitious project? Does it make it easier to relocate and find a job? Evgeny Tikhonov, Product Manager of <a href="https://aw.club/global/en" target="_blank">Anywhere Club</a>, answers these and other questions on the day of its launch. </em></p><p><img data-image="ao4xpiw6hyif" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt3675c16426befaff/62849683bcee916ef6429e88/jenya.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt3675c16426befaff" alt="Evgeny Tikhonov"></p>
<p><a href="https://aw.club/global/en" target="_blank">Anywhere Club</a> is an international association of IT professionals. Its mission is to help each club member realize their potential in IT, no matter where they live. For people with no experience, our Club can become an entry point into the IT world; for beginners and experienced professionals, it will provide various career growth opportunities. We organize meetups, offer training courses, and share information about vacancies in different countries. The Club's team has collected valuable information about relocation to several countries and will continue to develop this area. On our Discord channel, you can meet colleagues by interest and geolocation, unite, communicate, ask for help and give help to those who need it. </p>
<p>But first things first. </p><h3>Why We Do What We Do</h3>
<p>—&nbsp;The Anywhere Club team creates an international <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/community" target="_blank">IT community</a> where the fundamental values are mobility, openness to learning, and desire to help others and develop together. There are no geographical borders for us, and we are spread internationally and strive to create a product that will unite IT specialists from all over the world, — says Evgeniy Tikhonov, — In fact, we are building a cozy and reliable house for the global IT community: the place where every participant will feel safe and happy. </p>
<p>It is significant for the team and me to feel that we are working on a product that will help people in the IT industry. We are now introducing several valuable features to experienced IT specialists and people who want to get into IT: we understand that this is possible and has long been necessary, — confesses Evgeniy.</p><h3>How It All Started </h3>
<p>— We've been working on the idea of creating a global community of IT professionals for a long time, but of course, this wasn't how we imagined its launch. The world has changed, and now it is essential to unite and be helpful to each other. We have gathered all the expertise we had with our first content providers in one place. We urge techies and techies-to-be to join us and move forward together: to develop, grow, help, and ask for help. </p>
<p>Today we paid a lot of attention to relocation. I genuinely believe that there are no borders for today's IT professionals, and we want to be the place that helps unite like-minded people and give development opportunities. Obviously, many people have concerns about relocating to a new and unknown country, and we want to help people learn the formal realities and allow them to communicate with the local <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/community" target="_blank">IT community</a>. Knowing that at the moment of relocation, you have a job and a group of people who are ready to help not only with advice but also with actions dramatically reduces the stress of the relocation process. In addition to relocation, we worked on many other topics of concern to today's IT industry. </p><h3>What We Do Now</h3>
<p>Right now, Anywhere Club offers IT opportunities such as <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation</a>, <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/learn" target="_blank">education</a>, <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">job placement</a>, <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/volunteer" target="_blank">volunteering</a>, and <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/community" target="_blank">community</a> interaction.  </p>
<p>— For example, we already have tremendous expertise in relocation - we're pro Digital Nomads, and it's great that our partners have a large base of knowledge and opportunities and proven ways to get into IT and/or upskill yourself. Discord with themed channels has been chosen for community contacts. The blogger IT-Boroda and FrontSpot community leader Viktor Shelenchenko are responsible for the community. In the Anywhere Club blog, you can read personal <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation</a> stories, tips from psychologists on relocation, and professional advice from specialized experts. We are already gathering a base of volunteers to help the world in the future by solving social problems. I'm very proud of our team, and probably all I'm missing right now to be happy in the foundation of the house we've laid is the feedback of our first users. </p>
<p>Right now, we are in the testing phase. We want to make a good product, and we need the help of our first club members to make it exciting and practical - the way we conceived it, but most likely with some changes. We will analyze audience behavior at Anywhere Club and conduct surveys, research, and experiment — so that together we can come up with the perfect solution.</p><h3>Relocation</h3>
<p><a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/turkey" target="_blank">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/uzbekistan" target="_blank">Uzbekistan</a>, <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia" target="_blank">Serbia</a>, <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/hungary" target="_blank">Hungary</a>, <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/colombia" target="_blank">Colombia</a>, and <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/mexico" target="_blank">Mexico</a> — it might seem like we have someone on the team whose job is to spin the globe and randomly stop it to select the countries for relocation, but no.</p>
<p>— Why did we choose to review these particular countries for relocation? Turkey and Uzbekistan are good locations for the IT community. We have seen a significant increase in interest in relocation to these countries by IT professionals from CIS countries. In Serbia and Hungary, new IT communities are just materializing. If only you knew what we know about Colombia and Mexico! In the locations mentioned above, the IT market is, on the one hand, just emerging and, on the other hand, rapidly developing. We can see how many people in these regions are interested in IT and we have something to offer them. In our opinion, Anywhere Club's presence in these countries will help form communities of relocated IT specialists and develop local IT societies. In turn, this will open up new opportunities for the development of the IT industry as a whole, which is our global mission. </p>
<p>The site is now accessible from anywhere in the world. But we want to actively invite users into it gradually, going through all the stages: testing, analysis, updating, testing again, analysis, updating. As we improve the product, we will expand our presence country by country.</p><h3>Future Plans</h3>
<p>Club has an ambitious goal — to provide individual professional growth for each Anywhere Club member.</p>
<p>— Although we are significantly focused on relocation issues right now, in the long run, we want to create a global product that will unite IT professionals from all over the world and open up new development opportunities. To do this, we still have a lot of work to do. We plan to create engaging, popular, and relevant content for club members, attract partners to fulfill our ambitious plans, and become a platform for discovering new talents. </p>
<p>We have all the necessary resources, capabilities, and a great team. We are at the beginning of our journey, and today we are asking both upcoming and experienced IT professionals to support us. On behalf of Anywhere Club, I invite you to join our endeavor, share your feedback, and thereby help turn the Club into an active, dynamic community. Our club members are the most important to us, and we want to make sure that their interests and needs are heard and addressed.</p><h3>Our Partners</h3>
<p>The first partner for implementing the idea was EPAM.  </p>
<p>— We are very inspired by EPAM's approach to investing in and helping their employees build the skills needed to Engineer The Future™. For the last 29 years, the Company has been building the Home of the Modern Engineer™, and in this home today there are more than 60 thousand inhabitants around the world. EPAM creates a continuous learning culture that supports, encourages, and offers the opportunity to stay on the cutting edge of tech upskilling and soft skill development. We want to build a house in which there will be even more IT families, which help each other to grow and develop their careers.</p>
<p>We are looking forward to new partnerships and are ready to expand the Club's capabilities by adding new players and members to our initiative. We are open to conversations with educational providers, conference and meetup organizers, and non-profit organizations; our doors are open to all. </p><h3>Instead of an afterword </h3>
<p>— Like, share, repost? We're asking everyone who liked our idea to spread the word about us. Our SMM specialist lovingly generated our social media links just for you. I'll tell you about the rest of the team in the next episodes. Stay tuned.<br></p>

<p>Anywhere Club on social media: </p>
<p><a href="https://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anywhere_club_it/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/anywhere.club.global" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/awclub" target="_blank">LinkedIn,</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/AnywhereClub" target="_blank">YouTube</a></p>

main_zhenya_intro_2.png

Why do engineers and newcomers help each other? What are the mission and goals of this ambitious project? Does it make it easier to relocate and find a job? Evgeny Tikhonov, Product Manager of Anywhere Club, answers these and other questions on the day of its launch.

"Home for Every IT Professional in the World": What is Anywhere Club, and how does it work?

"Home for Every IT Professional in the World": What is Anywhere Club, and How Does it Work?

What is Anywhere Club, and how does it work

Anywhere Club

<h2>A Plastic Pathfinder, a Full-Time Gamer, an Exclusive Makeup Artist — What Are Some of the Unusual Jobs in IT?</h2>
<p><em>Anywhere Club explains why an IT company hires full-time doctors and chemists, teachers for robots, identifiers of cats, caretakers of an oil rig, and hotel representatives.</em></p><figure><img data-image="y1zv4o0vgyjc" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt55830e93df2c39e5/62b15630dece46707ae953df/4bc0de6de93664a64988855d1225a158.jpeg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt55830e93df2c39e5" alt="Sergey Boyko"><figcaption>Photo — Vlad Borisevich/onliner.by</figcaption></figure>


<p>Engineers are not the only ones in demand in the field of technologies. Creative and unusual <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">professions</a> are also represented more widely than you might expect.</p>
<p>— EPAM works with a large number of clients around the world, and their requests vary considerably — from the common to the downright unusual. Our goal is to create a unique solution tailored to the needs of each client: it may be service, a product, or a platform. On the “request-idea-implementation” path, we often deal with tasks that go beyond the scope of the engineering world: instances in which there are questions that programmers simply don’t have answers to. In these cases, we need the expertise of selected specialists. — The list of our professionals is very diverse, — says Sergey Boyko, Director of Engineering. In my work, I’m responsible for selecting a team, assessing the timing of the project, its cost, as well as managing and solving emerging problems. I will give a few examples.</p><h3>Physicists and chemists</h3>
<p>— For one customer from the medical field, we needed to create a device in which there were plastic elements that, during the process, were subjected to friction. It was important to evaluate how this plastic would behave over time. The solution was unique. No one had, or could have, such data. Accordingly, we needed people and an analytics system to create the necessary expertise. The mechanics were responsible for the system, but we also needed people who would rub plastic on the plastic. They had to be hired full-time and the duties of these employees included monitoring how the friction occurred. To understand how the plastic would behave in five years, the data needed to be collected for several months.</p>
<p>This example may seem silly, but we take meeting the needs of our clients very seriously. The reality is that we involve physicists in order to understand how certain materials will behave under various influences. What will happen to the plastic when it is exposed to ultraviolet light? What will happen to the metal if deforming forces are applied to the nodes and mechanisms of the customer's innovative product? Highly specialized pros help us find the answers to these questions. You will hardly be surprised to know that for projects from the pharmaceutical industry, we work with experienced chemists.</p><h3>Medics</h3>
<p>— There are several cases in which we have hired doctors. For example, we have a studio in Boston that focuses on manufacturing medical devices. It often conducts experiments that require doctors from nearby hospitals: they perform operations on mannequins using all of the technologies that were developed by our team, with full immersion in the simulated environment. We also involve doctors to evaluate how different systems for registering admitted patients are used, and for dealing with issues concerning medical records.</p><h3>Makeup artists</h3>
<p>— One of our clients from the beauty industry, a cosmetics manufacturer, wanted to find out how customers use his products in order to improve his sales platform. When you look at the site, a program shows the makeup applied on your face to make it easier for you to select cosmetics for purchase. We hired a makeup artist who helped evaluate how to properly use the cosmetics that the customer produces. For this position, it was not even necessary to be able to use a computer. Seems like a dream job.</p><h3>Gamers</h3>
<p>— Another dream job for many people would be to play computer games all day long. Not many people know that EPAM has expertise in game development. For one very well-known customer in the world market, we test early versions of games. To do so, we hire people whose duties include playing games all day long on various platforms: PC, mobile devices, and consoles. Not a bad way to make a living.</p><h3>Identifiers of cats</h3>
<p>— We often invite people without any IT education or background to cooperate with us. They just need to know how to use a computer, and have at least a limited knowledge of English. These employees are hired to do data markup for machine learning. It's very simple. For example, in front of you is a picture of a cat. The cat must be selected in a box and identified as a cat. These photos are then used for machine learning systems to teach them to identify objects. Artificial intelligence is trained using special data sets. In order to prepare these sets, a human eye is needed. With the participation of the human employees, the system learns and can then perform the function with acceptable accuracy.</p>
<p>— A similar story involves defining defects in production. Imagine that production is underway, and a special camera is on the conveyor belt. The camera analyzes images in real time to identify deviations from the established quality standards. Clearly, the camera itself won’t determine anything; it will only show the image. Artificial intelligence is required but, before it can perform the necessary function, it first needs to be taught to identify defects and deviations. For this, people are hired who are told what such defects and deviations look like. They then trace and mark defects frame by frame. This is straightforward but very important work for us and the client, since it allows the robots to learn to perform this critical function.</p><h3>Unique experience</h3>
<p>— For clients in testing departments, we identify and engage people with experience from the client's industry. For example, for a client in the oil and gas industry, if a candidate has experience working on an oil rig, that candidate becomes an indispensable member of the team for evaluating development results. With domain experience, the candidate understands how the system will be used, what various numbers mean, can assess how comfortable it will be for people on an oil rig to use the system, and so on. In these cases, the experience of testing is less significant because it can be taught. The experience of working on an oil rig becomes the priority.</p>
<p>Similarly, in the hospitality industry, when systems are developed for hotels, people with experience in the industry can help guide the conclusions and move the project in the right directions in development.</p><h3>How to find a job in IT?</h3>
<p>— We look for people for a variety of unusual tasks in different ways: we post vacancies, and we monitor people with relevant experience ourselves. If you have some kind of unique experience, do not hesitate to shout about it on social networks: it is highly likely that you will be heard!</p>

<p>The Anywhere Club blog will continue to cover interesting <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">professions</a> in the IT sphere, but for now, we invite you to join our <a href="https://epa.ms/acd">Discord</a> community and discuss topics that concern you.</p>

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Anywhere Club explains why an IT company hires full-time doctors and chemists, teachers for robots, identifiers of cats, caretakers of an oil rig, and hotel representatives.

A  Plastic Pathfinder, a Full-time Gamer, an Exclusive Makeup Artist — What Are Some of the Unusual Jobs in IT?

A plastic pathfinder, a full-time gamer, an exclusive makeup artist and identifiers of cats

unusual jobs in IT

<h2>How to Support Someone Who Is Stressed</h2>
<p><em>Psychologist Oleg Smagin on communication rules with people you want to support. Exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="rqok2ig6u6fn" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltf8bf22db2165f266/62b2c247756b4534b8d16046/MicrosoftTeams-image_(20).png.jpeg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltf8bf22db2165f266" alt="Oleg Smagin"></p><h3>An adult's position </h3>
<p>If a person gets in an emergency, his psyche automatically drops to the level of pubertal (adolescent) crisis. In this case, the person tends to calm down when they submit a strong personality or such image within an atmosphere of discipline and subordination.  </p>
<p>As in adolescence, the probability of violent outbursts of destructive or chaotic and foolish behavior, confusion of speech, and asocial or rebellious behavior increases. A person creates an image of the "enemy" and an image of the "magical helper." People begin to be conventionally divided into insiders and outsiders, with insiders being those with whom they share a common outlook, reaction, and feelings. </p>
<p>Taking this into account, it is necessary to communicate with the person under stress and in post-stress conditions from the position of the adult: understand, accept their reactions, and be capable of handling the circumstances. </p><h3>General rules for the conversation</h3><ul><li>At the beginning of the talk, introduce yourself and outline your options for helping the person you are talking to.</li><li>Avoid the particle "not" and replace it with words close in meaning: for example, instead of&nbsp;"We cannot allow it," —&nbsp;"We should do this and that." In a state of affect, the brain does not comprehend negativity well and often does not understand it.</li><li>Demonstrate calm confidence and do not respond to aggression.</li><li>The conversation should move smoothly from the emotions and feelings of the speaker to their thoughts and motor processes. Ask them simple questions that require mental effort (but not overwhelm): "Are you hungry?", "When did you eat the last time?", "What food do you have?", "Is it fresh? When did you buy it?"</li><li>Express confidence that their previous condition will be restored and that their normal psychological state and life will return soon.</li><li>Emphasize in every way that you are on their side, and you always will be. A stressful situation is not the time to clarify positions.</li><li>Emphasize the value, specialness, and uniqueness of your interlocutor. The person needs to know that they are important and valuable.</li><li>Involve them in joint activities. When a person is feeling unwell, the best medicine is to give some help to someone who needs it.</li><li>Listen carefully without interrupting. Very often, the person needs to speak out to start recovery processes.</li><li>The goal of communication should be to bring the person into an environment where they will have rest, water, food, and a safe place where they are heard.</li></ul>

<p>You can discuss topics that interest you on our <a href="https://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord </a>channel.</p>

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Psychologist Oleg Smagin on communication rules with people you want to support. Exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog

How to Support Someone Who Is Stressed

The psychologist on communication rules with people you want to support

<h2>“I Had a High Standard of Living, and Now I Have to Start Everything over from Scratch”: the Psychological Trauma of Emigrants</h2>
<p><em>Psychologist Galina Bobko discussed the feelings and experiences that relocators may face and how to prepare yourself to survive them exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="md3e5swhdp33" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt386eb8cb566d7cf3/62b9514209d26d0dcfb7854f/photo_2022-06-13_13-49-28.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt386eb8cb566d7cf3" alt="Galina Bobko"></p>
<p>— Moving to another country is always stressful, and workers who <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocate</a> may experience that stress to varying degrees: some are able to make the transition more easily, while others may struggle and find it very difficult. Psychologist Galina Bobko works with clients who have moved to another country and she highlights a number of common experiences they may face, including:</p><ul><li>Stress arising from the significant and ongoing effort that you need to make in order to adapt to your new surroundings;</li><li>Feeling of loss or deprivation resulting from the absence of your usual and comfortable attachments that remained in your previous location, this may apply to things like status and to the members of your inner circle;</li><li>Feeling of rejection arising from the inability to establish comfortable psychological contacts with your new environment;</li><li>Unexpected anxiety when encountering the significant differences between your own and another culture;</li><li>Feelings of inferiority associated with the inability to understand your new cultural environment.</li></ul>
<p><br></p>
<p>— If some of these experiences are familiar to you, then let’s talk about the impact of culture shock, which underlies the psychological trauma of those who relocate, says Galina.</p><h3>What can cause the psychological trauma experienced by some relocators?</h3>
<p>— An oversaturation of external influences and stimuli that a person feels they can’t cope with, and which threaten the integrity of their psyche, can cause the trauma, explains Galina. A person may begin to feel a traumatic experience vividly once they have moved through the tourist and euphoric stages of <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/blog/relocate/5-psychological-phases-of-adaptation">adaptation</a>. Afterward, there comes a phase when it is necessary to quickly resolve everyday issues: shops, banks, schools, medical institutions, etc. A fear of helplessness may grow, and a feeling of confusion can intensify. This can lead to trauma. Let’s talk about some common feelings and experiences that you might recognize.</p><h3>Loss of social status and your sense of self-worth</h3>
<p>—&nbsp;I frequently hear: “I had a high standard of living, wealth, and habits that matched my income before, and now I have to start everything over from scratch.”</p><h3>Violation of self-image</h3>
<p>— “Here I am nobody, here I have no rights to anything!” Negative ideas about yourself are a consequence of dramatic changes in your social status, environment, and lifestyle. In these moments, you may have a strong desire to return to the familiar, where everything was clear, calm, and arranged. In the moment, retreating into your former world as you remember it seems to be the only possible way to cope with the stress.</p><h3>Loss of roots </h3>
<p>— According to the science of cultural anthropology, a person, regardless of their nationality, belongs to the cultural group in which their consciousness and language were formed. Those who relocate, especially when they stay for a long time without the opportunity to visit their native country, may begins to feel at a loss, and wonder: who am I now? Where are my roots? What will I pass on to my children?</p>
<p>This may be most acutely felt by those whose closest relatives also emigrated, leaving them with no close connections in their native country. When this happened in my family, I acutely felt that now I had matured, and I urgently needed additional supports to replace those that used to be unshakable in my homeland.</p><h3>Guilt </h3>
<p>— A person who left their native country may feel the guilt of the survivor, the guilt that they missed something, that they did something wrong, that they failed to convince someone, that they quarreled with loved ones. This can be especially hard for those who have now settled safely in a new place but can’t enjoy the simple pleasures of their new life because they are constantly feeling the burden of responsibility for those who have remained back home.</p><h3>How can you deal with the psychological trauma of relocation?</h3>
<p>— An emigrant in a new country can’t exist in isolation, separate, from the society in which they live. To feel a part of that new society, they need to go through all of the psychological difficulties of emigration: getting used to the new country, adapting, adjusting. It is helpful to share the difficult stages of adaptation with people who have gone through it before or are facing similar difficulties now: they know exactly how difficult it is. Don’t be afraid to seek help from local communities, says Galina.</p>
<p>Admit to yourself that you are now in an entirely new situation - an emigrant who has to start many things all over again. Awareness and acceptance of this state, and acknowledging the difficulties that may arise on your way to adaptation, can facilitate your process of integration into a new society.</p>
<p>Knowing the psychological difficulties that may await you at different stages of your adaptation can actually help you avoid getting stuck in them and prevent them from developing into psychological trauma.</p>
<p>Another important tip is to seek help from specialists. Psychological assistance can help you find new meaning in your new life, and help you take responsibility for your path in your new society. The loss of old supports can be a steppingstone to understanding that you can become a support for yourself and others. Professional assistance can help you create a higher quality of life, experience more satisfaction in your new surroundings, and care for yourself and your loved ones.</p>

<p>Visit our <a target="_blank" href="http://epa.ms/acd">Discord</a> channel to discuss <a target="_blank" href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate">relocation</a> and many other topics!</p>

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Psychologist Galina Bobko discussed the feelings and experiences that relocators may face and how to prepare yourself to survive them exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog

“I had a high standard of living, and now I have to start everything over from scratch”: the psychological trauma of emigrants

The psychologist discussed the feelings and experiences that relocators may face and how to prepare yourself to survive them

psychological trauma of emigrants

<h2>"You Can Have a Gastronomic Tour Every Day if You Want": Living in Serbia — Pros and Cons</h2>
<p><em>What to say at the border about your Visa Run, why it is profitable to move with your dog, and why you need to download Viber back&nbsp;</em>—<em>&nbsp;</em><em>tells Natalia Simdianova, Head of the monetization department of ZiMAD game company, especially for the Anywhere Club blog. </em></p><p><img data-image="saxj4x9jduox" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt513b4f3e19da0ad6/62a733dd700acd3774f2d10b/MicrosoftTeams-image_(17)-2.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt513b4f3e19da0ad6" alt="Natalia Simdianova"></p>
<h3>How did I get to Serbia?</h3>
<p>—&nbsp;This year, such words as relocation, relocation, and emigration are more and more on everyone's lips, especially in the IT sector. Our company has ten offices in the US and CIS countries, and this year we decided to expand geographically. Tech companies choose between Georgia, Armenia, Cyprus, and Serbia in the current situation. Still, the more emigrants leave for one country or another, the harder it is for management to find a place for a good office and employees to find suitable housing, not at sky-rocket high cost and in a comfortable area. We decided on <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia" target="_blank">Serbia</a>, the city of Niš, the third largest in the country. Two months ago, I decided to be among the pioneers who would move here and start this journey, —&nbsp;says Natalia. </p>
<p>When you shift to a new country, there is no time to look for pros and cons: you move headlong into legalization and taxes issues, where to buy food, how to rent a place to live, etc. You don't write reviews in your head, as you often do on vacation; you just start living in a new home. But in the process, an understanding of what you like and what you don't like crystallizes. </p><h3>Pros</h3><ul><li><strong>No language barrier</strong> </li></ul>
<p>I know English very well. The first time I went to the store, I started talking in English at the cash register. The salesman listened to me patiently, then answered that I could speak to him in Russian or Serbian: he would understand everything. I realized that Serbian is similar to Russian, plus it's pretty easy. So if a Russian-speaking person doesn't know English, that's okay: it's easy to explain oneself to Serbs. </p><ul><li><strong>Friendly attitude to relocated people</strong></li></ul>
<p>The mentality of the Serbs is very similar to the people from the CIS countries. They are pretty straightforward, and you can easily find a common language with them; they are always ready to compromise and help you with any issue. I feel something familiar when communicating with the locals. Everyone wants to chat with you and give some advice.</p><ul><li><strong>Gastronomy</strong></li></ul>
<p>The food here is very familiar to us. Why am I saying this, and why is it important to me? I've been with my company for five years, and over the years, I've traveled worldwide: Asia, America, and Europe. So food is one of the most important factors I judge a country. Serbia has a lot of fresh baked goods, bread, vegetables, and fruit. Markets are popular here, but fast food is not common. There are traditional food kiosks where you can buy a huge burger for the price of a cheeseburger at McDonald's - but with a homemade cutlet, salad, and Serbian Šopska (Shopska) cheese - and you could easily divide it into three meals. The food is tasty and inexpensive, so that you can make a gastronomic tour here every day.</p><ul><li><strong>The opportunity to travel</strong></li></ul>
<p>Serbia is geographically well located. It borders many countries, some of which you can visit even during the weekend. You can quickly go to Montenegro, Albania, Turkey, Hungary, and further across Europe. It is convenient to travel by car, and it is not necessary to have an international driver's license. However, one should remember that gasoline is expensive here, and sometimes a flight to neighboring Montenegro may be cheaper and faster than a car ride there.</p><ul><li><strong>Dog-friendly country</strong></li></ul>
<p>People here love pets, especially dogs. Every second Serbian indeed has a dog. Why is it an advantage? For example, when renting an apartment, no one will ask you about a pet and certainly not refuse you if you have one, as often happens in other countries.</p><h3>Cons</h3><ul><li><strong>Visa Run and White Cardboard</strong></li></ul>
<p>Russian citizens can stay in the country legally only for 30 days. But there is such a thing as Visa Run: once every 30 days, you can cross the Serbian border and immediately return. Then the 30 days reset, and the countdown will start again. The authorities are aware of this and are okay with it. There was a funny case when my friends and I left the country for the first time to reset the deadline. We drove away from the border, turned around, and on our way back, the border guard asked why we came back so quickly? We started to think that we didn't like it in the other country, the driver had allergies, etc., but the officer didn't understand these reasons and wouldn't let us through. We got scared. And it turned out that you need to say directly&nbsp;—&nbsp;Visa run, and you immediately let them pass. </p>
<p>When you arrive in the country, you have to get a "White cardboard."</p>
<p>— This is a registration of residence; police can help make it. Even if you did not even change your place of residence but just went on vacation abroad, you need to make the White Cardboard each time. </p>
<p>All these legalization issues take a lot of time and effort. It is easier to make a residence permit, but you get only for six months the first time. This bundle of fun costs about $1000 for a family of two.</p><ul><li><strong>Smoking</strong></li></ul>
<p>When the whole world talks about the dangers of smoking and tries to set aside special places for smokers, in Serbia, people always smoke everywhere - indoors, in cafes, just outside. It is uncomfortable if you're not a heavy smoker.</p><ul><li><strong>Traffic</strong></li></ul>
<p>Serbia's road traffic doesn't obey any rules. There are no cameras on the streets, no fines either - or they are small. At crosswalks, no one lets you through. People park cars on sidewalks, green areas, etc. So you always have to be on guard.</p>
<p>— At first glance, the pluses outweigh the minuses. But I don't know how long I want to stay in Serbia. Relocation to this country will not be very stressful because many things are familiar to people from the CIS countries - the mentality, food, prices for food, clothing, and even beauty services are almost the same. But some things are missing. For example, they don't have an app to call a cab. If you deleted Viber thinking it was so last year, bring it back on your way to Serbia - to order a taxi, you have to text it to the taxi service on Viber! You drop off your location, and a cab driver will come in a minute. Payment is cash on the meter. </p>
<p>As a reader, I also miss the paper books in Russian, but I think it is a problem I would face in almost any country.<br></p>

<p>You can find more details about Serbia and our special relocation program in the <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/serbia" target="_blank">Relocate section</a>.</p>

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What to say at the border about your Visa Run, why it is profitable to move with your dog, and why you need to download Viber back — tells Natalia Simdianova, Head of the monetization department of ZiMAD game company, especially for the Anywhere Club blog.

What to say at the border about your Visa Run, why it is profitable to move with your dog, and why you need to download Viber back - tells Natalia Simdianova, Head of the monetization department of Zimad game company, especially for the Anywhere Club blog.

"You Can Have a Gastronomic Tour Every Day if You Want": Living in Serbia — Pros and Cons

What to say at the border about your Visa Run, why it is profitable to move with your dog, and why you need to download Viber back

living in Serbia - pros and cons

<h1>An 8-month Journey to Front-End</h1>
<p><em>Vadim Khlystun took courses for six months and received an offer two months later. The Front-End Developer moved from Belarus to the USA, continues to grow in the profession, and today tells his story of getting into IT especially for the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="7uh8kpz2r0hl" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt6773e9c3208effac/62bea484e47d9552b36aa5ee/Dmitryi_Khlystun.jpeg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt6773e9c3208effac" alt="Dmitryi Khlystun"></p><h3>How it all began</h3>
<p>— As a child, I really wanted to become a famous football player. But even though I didn’t fulfill my dream, sport still plays a big role in my life, Vadim explains.</p>
<p>I was born in Minsk, and graduated from the Physics Department of the Belarusian State University. I worked as a System Administrator, then as an ABAP Developer. Since I did not have a special IT education, I had to study a lot on my own: I read books and took online courses. The most important thing that I learned from that period of my life is that if you want to be at your best, you need to constantly keep yourself in good technical shape, and not be afraid to learn new disciplines.</p><h3>Getting into the EPAM UpSkill program</h3>
<p>— Many of my friends worked —&nbsp;and still work —&nbsp;at EPAM. All of them shared their positive experiences of working in the company. They talked about career opportunities, continuous learning, and team cohesion. One of them spoke about the recruitment in <a href="https://upskill.learn.epam.com/start" target="_blank">EPAM UpSkill</a> for their Front-End Development Program. I learned that the program was not limited to employees of the company. Before that, I had little experience in website layout. I decided this would be a good opportunity to change my specialization, which I had actually thought about for a long time. I wanted to change first, because Front-End is one of the areas that is in great demand, regardless of location and industry, and second, because I studied JavaScript a little in the past before starting the course. Of course, I wanted to deepen my knowledge and get advice and recommendations from experts. This is how my journey as a Front-End Developer began.</p><h3>How was the training?</h3>
<p>— The entire course from start to finish took 6 months. On average, I spent about 30 hours a week preparing. This is certainly a lot.</p>
<p>During our course people became very close friends thanks to the instructors, who not only helped us gain excellent knowledge, but also rallied us as a team. It was easy enough to do the homework since the material was well presented and discussed. Of the complex topics, I can name Application State Management with Redux and some sections of Typescript.</p><h3>What happened next</h3>
<p>— The strongest motivation for me was the possibility of getting a new job offer. It took a couple of months from the end of the course to the receipt of the offer, during which time I passed several interviews for various projects. Of course, while my new knowledge was fresh in my mind, it was relatively easy to pass interviews, says Vadim.</p>
<p>Long before taking the EPAM UpSkill program, I moved to the USA. At the moment, I work in a team that develops an e-commerce site for a large cosmetic company. We use the same toolkit that we studied during the course: Javascript + ReactJS + Redux. In the future, I plan to develop towards a full stack developer.</p>
<p>The main advice that I would like to give to those who want to change their field of activity is: don’t be afraid of change and find&nbsp;good teachers.</p>

<p>We invite you to ask questions about IT to our community in <a target="_blank" href="http://epa.ms/acd">Discord</a>.</p>

Vadim Khlystun took courses for six months and received an offer two months later. The Front-End Developer moved from Belarus to the USA, continues to grow in the profession, and today tells his story of getting into IT especially for the Anywhere Club blog

An 8-month journey to Front-End

Courses for six months and an offer just two months later — how is that possible?

journey to Front-End

<h2>6 Stereotypes About Life in Hungary</h2>
<p><em>Renting an apartment is expensive, without the Hungarian language there is no way, gourmets will get bored&nbsp;</em>—&nbsp;<em>those who haven’t lived in Hungary may think about the country this way. Vladislav Kozlov, an IT specialist and experienced relocator, refutes these concerns specifically for our Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="ycmusbe4qicp" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltc71fc453a5152d35/62b9520c97f4640d72f8d5e9/MicrosoftTeams-image_(18).png.jpeg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltc71fc453a5152d35" alt="Vladislav Kozlov"></p><h3>Stereotype #1: No way without the Hungarian language</h3>
<p>— In recent years, Hungary has become a truly international country. English-speaking foreigners, whose knowledge of Hungarian is limited to the basics, feel quite comfortable here. Since I moved to Budapest almost three years ago, I have never experienced difficulties as a result of my lack of knowledge of Hungarian, — says Vladislav Kozlov, Senior Software Engineer from EPAM.</p>
<p>Most people, especially the younger generation, speak English very well. As for older people, many also speak it, but not as fluently. A good example is my landlady: her English is far from perfect, but it is certainly understandable. If someone does not speak English at all, they will try their best to help you, open the translator on their smartphone, and answer your question. Of course, it will be an advantage if you know basic words and phrases in Hungarian, such as: “hello,” “thank you,” and “give me please” (for shopping). But this is not essential.</p><h3>Stereotype #2: Hungarians are unsociable, reluctant to meet foreigners</h3>
<p>— I am always pleasantly surprised when my Hungarian friends ask me questions: “Where are you from? And from what city? How are things going there now?". They are very inquisitive, and communication with them is a lot of fun. In pre-Covid times, every week I attended different international events. For example, there are events such as BlaBla Budapest or Language Exchange Budapest, where both Hungarians and foreigners gather to drink beer, chat, and exchange experiences and the culture of their native countries. This is a great way to make new friends among the locals, and to practice your Hungarian language skills. </p><p><img data-image="r1iul27wzvgl" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltdc9c2eb90b9d3994/62b9520ce261120e1d57d485/MicrosoftTeams-image_(19).png.jpeg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltdc9c2eb90b9d3994" alt="Hungary"></p><h3>Stereotype #3: Renting an apartment in Budapest is expensive and getting around the city is not very convenient</h3>
<p>— The capital of Hungary boasts a developed and diverse transport system, including metro, buses, trams, and bike rental services. The most common misconception that people who move to Hungary have is that they need to rent an apartment or house near the city center. As a result, they pay more money for rent, but cut their spending on entertainment and tourism. In my opinion, it is worth spending some time looking for housing in areas slightly more distant from the city center that is in close proximity to bus stops or metro stations.</p>
<p>Finding apartments here is best done on Facebook, where you will find ads directly from apartment owners. There are also special services you can use, like: ingatlan.com and alberlet.hu. The price for a good one-room or two-room studio now varies from 350 to 500 euros, excluding the cost of utility bills, —&nbsp;explains Vladislav.</p><h3>Stereotype No. 4: You can go broke paying for Hungarian medicine</h3>
<p>— Although the company's health insurance does not cover dental services, Hungarian dentistry will surprise people who are looking for quality service for a reasonable price. I just visited the dentist recently, and was impressed with the quality and the price. If you are told that a dentist in Hungary is super expensive and that it is better to go to Russia or Belarus, this is not entirely true. For example, in my case, the basic cleaning service cost 50 euros. True, I went to the clinic at the place of my residence. Perhaps in a private center it will cost more. But I was definitely satisfied with the care I received.</p>
<p>In general, everything is relative with medicine. On the one hand, if you have a TAJ number (national health insurance number) and an address assigned to you, then you have access to all city hospitals and háziorvos - the option to call a doctor at home. On the other hand, you may find that the doctor only speaks Hungarian. There may also be concerns about the quality of services. As an alternative, I recommend private clinics and hospitals where, on average, the cost can vary from 40 to 80 euros per appointment.</p><h3>Stereotype #5: Gourmets will get bored in Hungary</h3>
<p>— Cuisine in Budapest, like in many capitals, is a mixture of international and local trends. There are a lot of Turkish and Greek restaurants and cafes are here. But, as soon as you leave the city, the food becomes more traditional. One of the most popular national dishes of Hungary is Goulash. In second place is Halasle - fish soup with paprika. Fun fact: if a Hungarian invites you to try Palinka (Hungarian fruit brandy), they are trying to show their hospitality.</p>
<p>My favorite local dish is Langos, a Hungarian fast food. It is a deep-fried flatbread with sour cream, garlic, sometimes cheese or sausages. Here, everyone will definitely find a dish to suit their taste, but you will need to keep an eye on the numbers on your scale.</p><p><img data-image="syl2vijyjine" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltfb530b3e09028560/62b9520c9b1d980db35402ab/IMG_20200620_122335.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltfb530b3e09028560" alt="Hungary"></p><h3>Stereotype #6: The main Hungarian attractions are in Budapest</h3>
<p>— Hungary is a beautiful country, with a surprising variety of places to travel. In addition to the stunning and well-known Budapest, there are many other interesting cities and natural areas for recreation. Many people call Lake Balaton the local sea. Traveling in Hungary, you can also visit many castles: the medieval castle of Eger, Grasszalkovich Castle (one of the largest baroque palaces in Europe), and others. In the southwest of Hungary, you will find the city of Pécs, which is included among the UNESCO world heritage sites. The undoubted advantage of Hungary is that traveling here is very convenient and affordable. Fast electric trains are available everywhere, and it costs 10 –12 euros to get anywhere in the country. If there is no train nearby, there will definitely be a comfortable bus.<br></p>

<p>You can find more information about the country on our <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/hungary" target="_blank">Relocate</a> page or ask questions in the <a href="https://epa.ms/acd">Discord</a>&nbsp;channel.</p>

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Renting an apartment is expensive, without the Hungarian language there is no way, gourmets will get bored — those who haven’t lived in Hungary may think about the country this way. Vladislav Kozlov, an IT specialist and experienced relocator, refutes these concerns specifically for our Anywhere Club blog

6 stereotypes about life in Hungary

Renting an apartment is expensive, without the Hungarian language there is no way... Is this true?

Hungary stereotypes

<h1>How to Avoid Burnout and Stay Productive in 2022</h1>
<p><em>Multitasking, proactivity, and curiosity — generally, these are the qualities of a successful employee. How can you avoid burning out and stay productive and on track in your pursuit of self-improvement? Business analyst Yuliya Kryvuseva has some tips for you.</em></p><p><img data-image="j327qxzfl1om" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltb4971a2e2b8de305/62c4429eba370f7999671cd8/Юлия_Кривусева.png" data-sys-asset-uid="bltb4971a2e2b8de305" alt="Юлия_Кривусева.png"></p>
<p>— There are numerous articles about how to be a successful professional. The list of recommendations might differ, but the most common ones are being proactive, being curious, sharpening hard and soft skills, and going the extra mile. Today, we operate in a dynamic environment with busy schedules, diverse clients, tight budgets, and increasing scale. Work overload, overtime, and work-related stress can easily become the norm. As a result, we may take on more than we can handle. Trying to maintain this pace means that we not only risk losing our enthusiasm, but, ultimately, we risk burning out. A colleague who suffered from burnout shared her experience and advice on how to handle it with Yuliya, who shares it with you below.</p><h2>What caused burnout in this case? </h2>
<p>— Switching between tasks and intensive communication were the main factors that contributed to burnout in this case. Switching between numerous tasks consumed a lot of time, and each switch required considerableeffort to become familiar with the new task. The requirement for daily communication added to the burden because it used a lot of energy and resources. Since she loved her work, Yuliya’s colleague persevered, but she came to realize that her working days routinely lasted more than 12 hours, and this continued for several months with no end in sight. Conversations with management did not resolve the issue. In the end, she resigned.  </p><h2>How can you make changes to avoid burnout? </h2>
<p>What can you learn from the experience of Yuliya’s colleague, and what can you do to avoid a similar fate?</p>
<h3><strong>Manage your work, and your time</strong></h3><ul><li><strong></strong>Plan, estimate, allocate. Daily, weekly, and monthly plans with a to-do list (or lists) will help you schedule your <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">work</a> and book the appropriate amounts of time in your calendar.</li><li>Group. If you run several streams, group stream-related tasks and allocate a specific amount of time for their completion. This helps you reduce unnecessary switching between tasks and be more focused, increasing your efficiency.</li><li>Prioritize. The Eisenhower Matrix helps set priorities for tasks that do not have external dependencies(those that require other people's involvement, for example).</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>The technique categorizes tasks based on urgency and importance.</p><p><strong><strong><img data-image="6cuob4y0zbhg" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt54a6c1880a4e71f5/62c4429eb35d9f73ad5a5034/Artboard_EN.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt54a6c1880a4e71f5" alt="Manage your work and time"></strong></strong></p>
<h3><strong>Focus on your work</strong></h3><ul><li><strong></strong>Reserve meeting-free days in your calendar. Not only will this give you a rest from constant communications, it will also allow you to focus on tasks you need to complete.</li><li>Use the 'Do not disturb' status in messengers to minimize potential distractions and improve your productivity.</li><li>If possible, shorten your list of household chores and find time to relax. Remember that you can delegate or allow yourself to be lazy. There are many things that need to be done, but don’t have to be done right now.</li><li>Use health gadgets that track your heart rate or energy levels. This can help you tune in and manage your personal energy resources around the clock.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<h3><strong>Give yourself a break</strong></h3><ul><li><strong></strong>Do not beat yourself up if something is not done. If the work has been postponed several times already, it probably does not require immediate attention and perhaps can even be ignored.</li><li>Do not force yourself to work if you are exhausted and need some rest. All of us are generally obliged to follow the rules, but sometimes, making an exception is the best course of action. For instance, if you are exhausted and feel the need for a nap, it may be better to take a short nap and then return to work afterward with renewed energy.</li><li>Take time off from <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">work</a>. Even if you just take a break from work for a few hours, it will help you refreshyour mind, your creativity, and your problem-solving abilities. You can also try a workation, allocating part of the day for work and the remainder for rest. The change of scenery will give you an additional boost.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<h3><strong>Do</strong><strong>n’t</strong> <strong>suffer in</strong> <strong>silen</strong><strong>ce</strong></h3><ul><li><strong></strong>Communicate your worries and concerns to your management. It is important not only to be heard, but to have the opportunity to collaboratively find the most appropriate solution for your specific situation. </li></ul>
<p></p><ul></ul>
<h3><strong>Take care of yourself</strong></h3><ul><li><strong></strong>Find a method for an emotional detox. This can be a hobby or any activity that helps you change your focus away from work. For instance, walking, visiting gardens, cycling, it can be anything that works for you.</li></ul>
<p></p><ul></ul>
<p>Burnout is dangerous. It can have a negative influence on our mental and physical health, impacting all aspects of our life. There are various techniques that can help you avoid burnout, or to cope with it. It’s up to each of us to decide what will work best for us.<br></p>

<p>We thank <a href="https://wearecommunity.io/">wearecommunity.io</a> portal for the material provided.</p>
<p>You can discuss this topic and ask questions in our <a href="https://epa.ms/acd">Discord channel</a>.</p>

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Multitasking, proactivity, and curiosity – generally, these are the qualities of a successful employee. How can you avoid burning out and stay productive and on track in your pursuit of self-improvement? Business analyst Yuliya Kryvuseva has some tips for you

How to avoid burnout and stay productive in 2022

How can you avoid burning out and stay productive and on track in your pursuit of self-improvement

How to avoid burnout

<h1>“Comfortable Country to Start Life in Europe”: the Joys and Challenges of Relocation to Hungary</h1>
<p><em>What is interesting and tasty in Hungary? What are the paperwork requirements? How much does it cost to rent an apartment and travel? Relocator and traveler Mikhail Belousov told us about it exclusively for the Anywhere Club, and you can read his words below.</em></p><p><img data-image="o53vz7jac0vi" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt931d1e725caa3127/62c5962dac9af37914b2f298/Picture_1.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt931d1e725caa3127" alt="Mikhail Belousov"></p><h2>Why Hungary?</h2>
<p>Mikhail Belousov, EPAM Lead DevOps Engineer, explains his move: My wife and I considered several countries for relocation, but settled on <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/hungary" target="_blank">Hungary</a> for three reasons. First, I was here several times before we moved, and the experience had always been overwhelmingly positive. Second, the mentality and culture of the Hungarians feels close to Slavic, so it is quite easy to adapt here. The third, main, reason was the location of Hungary. </p><p><img data-image="a6guo4j5nf8l" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltb977467213ad505d/62c5962d915494712c22f388/Picture_1.png" data-sys-asset-uid="bltb977467213ad505d" alt="Hungary"></p>
<p>The country is located in the heart of Europe, which makes it an excellent starting point for travel. My wife and I are big fans of travelling, but it was more difficult, longer, and more expensive to do it from Russia. Living in Budapest, we can easily travel throughout the European Union. We can get on a plane and walk around Rome or any other European capital in a couple of hours, spending just 30 euros on our travel. The main thing is to learn how to pack all of your things in a small backpack, which is allowed on low-cost airlines, so you don’t have to pay extra for luggage. Earlier covid measures restricted us, but today, countries are lifting these restrictions one by one. </p>
<p>Hungary itself is also very beautiful. We have traveled to many cities here by car. By the way, having a car here turned out to be very convenient. Within six months after entering the EU, you can drive your car without registering it here. And if you don’t want to register it in the future, then you can simply leave the EU — going, for example, to Montenegro — then return, and the six-month period will be reset again.</p><p><img data-image="ncx53uayhosp" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blte83654727568d303/62c5962d901b4477f52ce079/Picture_2.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blte83654727568d303" alt="Hungary"></p><h2>Do you need to learn Hungarian?</h2>
<p>If you do not plan to stay here longer than two years, then knowledge of English will be enough for communication. Even if you meet someone who does not speak English, they will be happy to answer questions through an online translator. Many people live in Hungary who do not know the Hungarian language. Once we went to a bar where the owner was a Dane — he said that he knew only one phrase in Hungarian.</p><h2>Pros and cons of living in Hungary</h2>
<p>In addition to the opportunity to travel easily, in <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/hungary" target="_blank">Hungary</a> you can also eat delicious food cheaply, and have fun. When friends from Germany and the Netherlands come to visit us, they always say that Budapest is a place with a lot of fun. A hot dish in a cafe that fills you up well costs only 5-7 euros. You can also find lots of budget-friendly French and Italian cheeses and delicacies in Hungary. Local wine here is inexpensive and very tasty.</p>
<p>The local climate is very pleasing. I don’t even remember if there was a minus temperature this winter, but if there was, it was for a very short period. Of course, snow lovers will only be able to find artificial snow at public ice rinks. But after long and protracted winters in Moscow, it is very comfortable to spend most of the year in warmth.</p>
<p>In addition to the many positive things about our move here, my review would be incomplete if I didn’t mention some downsides we encountered. Hungary is comparatively cheap to live in, but salary rates here are lower than in Western Europe. There are also relatively high taxes on income, plus you need to consider the rental cost of housing. A one-room apartment in the capital will cost about 450 euros per month, and for 600 euros you can rent a larger apartment, in good condition, with several rooms. These rental amounts include utility bills. The contract for an apartment is generally signed for a year. As soon as you sign, you will need to pay three monthly payments in advance for the apartment: one for the first month of rent and two more as a deposit.</p>
<p>You will also have to spend several months nervously waiting in order to formalize your stay in the country. Moreover, in government entities they will prefer to speak Hungarian with you, and for this you will need to find someone who will be ready to help you with the translation. In addition, we are accustomed to a clearer banking service. In Hungary, you might try to open an account, and think that everything went smoothly, only to find out later that the account was never opened for some reason, and you were never notified about it. Similarly, you may find yourself waiting for your documents, thinking that your registration process is underway, but discover later that your file was closed a long time ago without being completed.</p>
<p>Another word of advice is that everything isn’t so rosy in the beauty and medicine industries and isn’t the kind of care we were used to. In our experience here, for example, few people think about disinfecting devices before they start treating your nails. On the medical side of things, a dentist can simply open an office in an apartment in a residential building. For us, this is unusual. Therefore, I recommend to anyone who is going to move to Hungary that you do as many health and beauty procedures as you can in a place that you are sure of before relocating to Hungary.</p>
<p>Probably, after we explore all the nearby countries and swim in all the local baths, it will be possible to look towards the next country we want to settle in for life, because it is unrealistic for me to learn the Hungarian language. Hungary is undoubtedly a very comfortable entry point to Europe, though, and we have found that the positive aspects of living here outweigh any inconveniences we have experienced.<br></p>

<p>More information about relocation to Hungary and a special relocation program can be found <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate/hungary" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>

What is interesting and tasty in Hungary? What are the paperwork requirements? How much does it cost to rent an apartment and travel? Relocator and traveler Mikhail Belousov told us about it exclusively for the Anywhere Club, and you can read his words below

“Comfortable country to start life in Europe”: the joys and challenges of relocation to Hungary

What is interesting and tasty in Hungary? What are the paperwork requirements? How much does it cost to rent an apartment and travel?

relocation to Hungary

<h1>From Online Stores to a NASA Rover: Where is Python Used and Why Should You Study it in 2022?</h1>
<p><em>Python&nbsp;</em>—&nbsp;<em>what is this programming language? Why is it popular today and in what areas is it used? EPAM Lead Software Engineer, Yury Zaitsev, answers these and other questions below specifically for the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="i1zsk26z491y" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltc80244eaf79e5d47/62cd6174ba370f7999672780/Yury_Zaitsev.png" data-sys-asset-uid="bltc80244eaf79e5d47" alt="Yury Zaitsev"></p><h2>  <strong>What is Python?</strong></h2>
<p>— Simply put, Python is a high-level programming language in which you can write almost everything. Python has been around for a while. The first outlines of what would become Python appeared in 1989, and Python 1.0 first saw the light of day in 1994. To be clear, this was very different from Python 2.0, which was released in 2000. In version 2.0, Python really hit its stride, and became a very popular programming language that developed rapidly. The current version, Python 3.0, was released in 2008.</p><h2><strong>What is the Python programming language for?</strong></h2>
<p>— In theory, the Python language can be used in any situation in which a programming language is needed: from developing a simple online store to a NASA rover. Truly. The Perseverance Ingenuity rover drone software was developed using F Prime. F Prime is a multi-component spacecraft modeling and software development framework created by NASA. It is written in C++ and Python. Most of it, of course, is in C++, but about 25% of it is still Python. In reality, though, it is not always advisable to use Python.</p><h2><strong>What is Python good for?</strong></h2>
<p>— Scope of Python — the areas in which Python is a superior tool are various and diverse. I suggest that the main areas in which it stands out are as follows:</p><h3>Development of back-end web applications</h3>
<p>These are online stores, online games, and streaming video services; examples include <a href="https://www.djangoproject.com/">Django</a>, <a href="https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/">FastApi</a>, and <a href="https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.1.x/">Flask</a>.</p><h3>Solving scientific and near-scientific problems such as calculations, data analysis, and visualization.&nbsp;</h3>
<p>This category includes things like genome analysis and the calculation of the flight paths of bodies in space, implemented through tools such as <a href="https://pandas.pydata.org/">Pandas</a>, <a href="https://jupyter.org/">jupyter</a>, and <a href="https://plotly.com/python/">Plotly</a>.</p><h3>Machine learning&nbsp;</h3>
<p>Applications like face recognition, document recognition, and sales forecasting benefit from Python’s strengths. <a href="https://www.tensorflow.org/">TensorFlow</a>, <a href="https://keras.io/">Keras</a>, <a href="https://pytorch.org/">PyTorch</a> have proven themselves in this category.</p><h3>Automation</h3>
<p>Business processes, manufacturing, and smart home applications using <a href="https://airflow.apache.org/">AirFlow</a> and <a href="https://luigi.readthedocs.io/en/stable/">Luigi</a>.</p><h3>Embedded systems</h3>
<p>This includes on-board computers in vehicles and robot vacuum cleaners. You can find details here: <a href="https://micropython.org/">MicroPython</a>.</p>
<p>The downsides of Python are harder to identify. There are no bad programming languages, but there are misuses. If you try to come up with one downside, it will likely be speed. Out of the box, CPython is significantly inferior in performance to compiled languages ​​like C, because it is more high-level.</p>
<p>But:</p><ul><li>High speed is not always needed.</li><li>Popular libraries for data processing where performance is important usually use C-extensions and run at nearly the speed of C.</li><li>Solutions like Cython, Numba, and PyPy introduce certain limitations, but they can greatly improve performance.</li></ul>
<p></p><h2><strong>What </strong><strong>kinds of things </strong><strong>is Python not </strong><strong>well-suited </strong><strong>for and </strong><strong>when </strong><strong>is it better to </strong><strong>choose</strong><strong> a more </strong><strong>appropriate</strong> <strong>tool?</strong></h2><h3>Developing front-end web applications</h3>
<p>Projects like <a href="https://pyodide.org/en/stable/">Pyodide</a> allow you to execute Python source code in abrowser via <a href="https://webassembly.org/">WebAssembly</a>, but so far this is more of a hobbyist activity than a professional approach.</p><h3>Mobile Applications</h3>
<p>Frameworks like <a href="https://kivy.org/#home">Kivy</a> and <a href="https://beeware.org/">BeeWare</a> make it possible to develop full-fledged applications for Android and IOS, but doing so is not very convenient and this is not accepted in the industry.</p><h3>Game development</h3>
<p>Although there are game engines that support Python (<a href="https://www.panda3d.org/">Panda3D</a>, <a href="http://cocos2d.org/">Сocos2d</a>, <a href="https://www.pygame.org/wiki/about">PyGame</a>), C++ is better for AAA. It is, however, quite <a href="https://www.renpy.org/">possible</a> to write a <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/331470/Everlasting_Summer/?">visual novel</a> using Python.</p><h2><strong>Why is Python popular?</strong></h2><ol><li>Python is used in a variety of areas — development, test automation, data analysis, machine learning. This means that with a good understanding of Python, you can build your career flexibly and switch between theseareas if you choose.</li><li>Python is concise, elegant, and uses a very simple syntax. A program written in Python often reads like a coherent text in English. You can quickly learn the language and start working.</li><li>Another plus is the ease of development. The simplicity of the language and the large number of free ready-to-use modules allow you to write and test programs very quickly. And fast means cheaper, so Python is often chosen as the main technology when starting a project.</li></ol><h2><strong>Which large companies use Python today?</strong></h2>
<p>A huge number of companies around the world use Python. Some of the largest and most recognizable include the following:</p><ul><li>Google uses Python as one of its main programming languages, Microsoft actively uses it for web services, and Amazon uses it everywhere.</li><li>Dropbox, Spotify, Instagram, and Reddit are all mostly written in Python.</li><li>Netflix and Uber are not fully written in Python, but they actively use it.</li><li>In games such as World of Tanks and EVE Online, the server part was written in Python.</li></ul>
<p></p><h2><strong>Should I start learning Python in 2022?</strong></h2>
<p>—&nbsp;Python is now more popular than ever. Last year, it was at the top of the <a href="https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/">TIOBE</a> index, overtaking C and Java. It is being actively developed, the syntax is expanding, and the “problems” often associated with Python, such as poor performance, are gradually being solved. There are also more and more open libraries in <a href="https://pypi.org/">PyPI</a>.</p><h2><strong>How long does it take to learn Python?</strong></h2>
<p>— It will take 3-4 months to learn the basics. Then, it is helpful to work “on the hook” for 3-6 months to see how everything works in practice.</p><h2><strong>What do you need to do to get started with Python?</strong></h2><ol><li>To start understanding Python, get used to the syntax, familiarize yourself with the functionality of the standard library, and delve into the standards and conventions — at least PEP8. It will not be superfluous to tighten the gaps in the basics of algorithmization and programming paradigms — OOP will be enough.</li><li>Then, it will be useful to understand the  third-party libraries available on PyPI. Of course, you do not need to know the interfaces of all of the functions of each ready-made library thoroughly. It is enough to understand what popular frameworks exist, and in what situations they can be useful.</li><li>For dessert — databases (SQL/NoSQL) and cloud technologies (AWS/Azure/GCP). Although this may not be strictly necessary, in practice, most enterprise projects cannot be imagined without using them.</li></ol>
<p>— Python is hard not to like: it is a very concise and simple language, it is written quickly, and it has a lot of “batteries”. Plus, if you ever find yourself getting bored in your current position, while continuing to use Python you can transition to work as a test automation engineer, a machine learning engineer, and even a data analyst.<br></p>

<p>You can learn more about Python in the IT Beard Shorts issue on the Anywhere Club <a href="https://youtu.be/XsSZ_GJsa64" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>.</p>
<p>Have a desire to discuss Python? Go in <a href="https://epa.ms/acd">Discord</a>.</p>

Python - what is this programming language? Why is it popular today and in what areas is it used? EPAM Lead Software Engineer, Yury Zaitsev, answers these and other questions below specifically for the Anywhere Club blog

From Online Stores to a NASA Rover: Where is Python Used And Why Should You Study It in 2022?

Python — what is this programming language? Why is it popular today and in what areas is it used?

What-is-python

<h1>From Travel Agent to a Tester in IT, or How to Find a Dream Job on the Mediterranean Coast</h1>
<p><em>Work from any place in the world and at any time of the day: Andrea Reppin spoke about these perks and other advantages of working as a tester in the Test IO, exclusive to the Anywhere Club blog.</em></p><p><img data-image="3zg5gxxk8e6z" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt9711648f0f683143/62d11a1d96e0c6712ea6f1f2/main.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt9711648f0f683143" alt="Test IO"></p><h2>How did it all begin?</h2>
<p>— I have devoted many years to the tourism business: organizing musical tours for jazz bands, making travel plans for my private clients around the world, and working in the hotel business. In 2016, after working two regular seasons at the hotel, I started looking for a way to earn money without leaving home for a long time. I started with a crowdsourcing platform, but this activity seemed rather boring to me. Then I found a few articles on the Internet about crowd testing, I found it interesting, and I decided to try it. This is how I discovered <a href="https://test.io" target="_blank">Test IO</a>. Previously, I had no experience in the IT-sphere, except that I solved all the problems with computers at my previous job.</p><h2>How is the working day going?</h2>
<p>— One of the main advantages of my work is that you can work at any time of the day and from anywhere. I’m from Germany, but recently I live in Greece. I have three cats that require serious care and long evening walks, so I am busy most of the day. I work mostly early in the morning, late in the evening, or even at night. While testing, I don’t follow the plan, but use the application as a normal user just to see how everything goes, and at what points there may be problems. That's why I also really love UX testing. I always believe that you can do much better! My secret is probably that I really love testing and don't consider it "work." So even when I agree to a test cycle where I can't immediately find any bugs, I usually take my time to review the entire website or app. The better you understand how something is supposed to work, the easier it is to find errors.</p><h2>What do you need to study to become a tester?</h2>
<p>I have learned everything by myself all my life. The new Test IO system with user stories gives everyone a good opportunity to get a feel for the website or application. Early in your career, a great way to write content and find visual bugs is through test loops. With their help, you will learn how to write good bug reports. Read the articles in the Test IO academy, search the web for all the best ways to capture screencasts, use a proxy or VPN, find GPS apps, and use Google Drive or Dropbox. This way, you won't have problems with test setups later, and you can focus on finding bugs instead of solving technical problems in your own setup. It took me almost two months to discover all the tools like VPN apps and screen recorders that are best for me and my devices. A little effort every day will always lead to success.</p>
<p>I had a break from work, and now I feel like a newcomer again. I can really advise every new tester never to give up. Ask questions to colleagues, study information on the Internet, and don’t be afraid of failures: thanks to them, you can also learn a lot.</p>
<p>Here are some of my life mottos that I always follow and advise others to: "never give up," "you can achieve anything you want," and "don't dream about life, live your dream."</p><h2>What are you future plans?</h2>
<p>In the future, I also plan to continue testing. I have many hobbies - reading, knitting and crocheting. I love making handmade gifts for the whole family, especially for my little nieces. Since my husband and I live in a small Greek village and our area has become increasingly isolated in recent years due to poor road connections and airport access, we are thinking about moving to another country, maybe Spain. So, I spend a lot of time on the Internet looking for the perfect place and home to live in. But the big plus is that I won't have to look for a new job: I will work with <a href="https://test.io" target="_blank">Test IO</a> from any place in the world.</p>

<p>We invite you&nbsp;to ask questions about IT to our community in <a href="http://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a>.</p>

Work from any place in the world and at any time of the day: Andrea Reppin spoke about these perks and other advantages of working as a tester in the Test IO, exclusive to the Anywhere Club blog

From Travel Agent to a Tester in IT, or How to Find a Dream Job on the Mediterranean Coast

How to work from any place in the world and at any time of the day

Tester in IT

<h1>“I Kept a Project Management Board on My Refrigerator”: the Real Story of a Radical Change in Profession.</h1>
<p><em>Life in IT after forty is just beginning. Olga Bykhovtsova’s example proves that it is never too late to start realizing a dream. She lost her job at a bank, but did not despair. Instead, Olga pivoted into IT: the path was not easy, but it was worth it. Today she is a Data Quality Engineer in a large international company, and she shares her success story below in her own words.</em></p><p><img data-image="q54cfpy4mo48" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt324e7c22c847f1df/62d11a3ac16c7d7132a51cd2/Ольга_Быховца.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt324e7c22c847f1df" alt="Olga Bykhautsova"></p><h2>How did it all begin?</h2>
<p>— A few years ago, I lost my job in a bank. I am over 40, I have three children, I live in the province. This was a disaster. Spinning in my head were phrases like “after 35 it is impossible to find a job”, and “at 40, people are unteachable.” But I decided not to give up. I remembered that I had long dreamed of IT. At school, I was very fond of computer science, and I remembered how everything developed and appealed to me. Plus, a good friend changed her life and went on to learn Java, which inspired me. So, I opened the <a href="https://training.by/#!/Home?City=37,38,39,40,41,42,50&lang=en" target="_blank">training.by</a> page. I already knew about this resource, but I did not yet understand what I wanted to do. I saw that there was a recruitment for a training in Data Engineering, I looked at the requirements: databases and experience in a bank. I took a chance and signed up. </p><h2>What was your plan?</h2>
<p>— The plan was that even if I failed at the work, at least I would develop my brain. So, I applied to EPAM Data Lab for the <a href="https://training.epam.com/Training/Details/3164?lang=en">Data and analytics online trainings course</a>. The first interview was in English, and I passed. They said that there would also be a technical interview, and that I needed to learn SQL. ​​I began to study SQL and databases, read books, prepared. I practiced for 6 hours every day.</p>
<p>The first two months were easy. The only thing that caused stress was that once a week they gave a task online, you had to write code in SQL and you had to get the desired result. Everything had to be correct, not just completed. During the course, we were taught to look for and find solutions on our own. This came in handy moving forward. Of course, this approach is not without difficulties. The first challenge is to admit that you are not the smartest, and don’t know everything, so you need to ask for help. But don't give up. It helped to chat with fellow students. I could complain to them about fatigue; they understood and supported me.</p>
<p>My family also helped. At the lab, we had a project management course. I created tasks and assigned them to my husband and children. I kept a project management board for household chores on the refrigerator. I will say that during this time, I fell out of my life. I focused on work and home - I did not meet with friends or do other activities. If there was a rare day off, then it was a holiday - just to breathe and relax in nature.</p>
<p>New friends developed on the Lab. We understood each other and got along very well. Our chat was a salvation for me: we discussed everything, joked.</p><h2>What is Data Quality? </h2>
<p>— As a rule, any large company has a huge amount of accumulated data: about purchases, customers, research and much more. Information is collected from different internal departments and may also be available from external free resources or purchased from special providers. Before using this data, it is necessary to verify its quality, integrity, and compliance with business requirements.</p>
<p>Today, the profession of Data Quality Engineer is popular because there is so much data available. To use it for any purpose, it needs to be checked first. For example, in order to “feed” it into a data science algorithm, you first need to make sure that you are providing the information that you really need.</p>
<p>A Data Quality Engineer doesn’t have to be able to program, but it will be an advantage. Somewhere, you will benefit from a custom-made framework or tool.</p>
<h2>How can you get into IT?</h2>
<p>— I had an ideal entry into IT. It all started with an interview with the head of Data Science EPAM in Canada. He told me about a project, and asked what I was doing on the Lab. I explained everything in English. He asked: "When are you free?" I replied: "Tomorrow." His response: "Well, let's start on Monday." He did not interrogate me and did not give me assignments, because he already had information about my knowledge and success during my Lab experience. We had a great team, and we successfully completed the project in 4 months.</p>
<p>Things continued to move forward for me from there. From a complex lab to a complex project with BigData + ML. We had Databricks and PySpark. I worked with the author of a book on PySpark. I had to urgently learn Python. SQL was not as useful as I would have hoped. On the next project, I again had Databricks, but they hired me to replace a colleague. She didn’t like Python, and wrote everything in Scala, so I had to quickly learn Scala. Now, I have experience with the three most important languages ​​​​for a Data Quality engineer - Python, Scala, and Java.</p>
<p>Of course, there were also difficult moments. It can feel as though you constantly walk along a sinusoid. You swing from successfully completing a difficult task and flying high as a result, to facing an unfamiliar and challenging new task and feeling sure that you will never understand how to do it. So, you flounder, but everything turns out!</p><h2>What is the difference between working in a bank and working in IT?</h2>
<p>—  This is my favorite question. There are many differences:</p><ul><li>In the bank, you could meet the director at 8 am and he checks the time of your arrival. In IT, you are at a distance, and no one tracks your time. You appreciate that your desire to work is greater when you are simply trusted. Even with this strong desire, however, when you want to do so, you can take a break to go outside, but you can also work in the evenings, because there are tasks that you need to complete.</li><li>&nbsp;During a shift at the bank, it was impossible to look at my phone, but now, I can use any tool that is available — I just have to solve the problem.</li><li>Culture: here, everyone is respected, praised, appreciated. As soon as I started working, my work was recognized and praised.</li><li>I love that IT is all about you and your results. In the bank, everything was very formal and official, but less effective.</li><li>There is no hierarchy here. Even if you are a junior, if you have ideas, you can tell them to top managers. No one will tell you: "Sit down and don't get out of line, let the leaders have their say first." In the bank, I sat in one position for quite a long time. I was silent about the work, and about the salary increases, which never arrived — 10% in 5 years was expected by the entire department.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>Everything is more comfortable when you work in IT. The work is very challenging, but there is a completely different attitude towards you as a person, and a completely different atmosphere. </p><h2>What suggestions do you have for those who want to change their profession?</h2><ul><li>If you want to work with data —&nbsp;learn SQL.&nbsp;</li><li>If you want to program — learn Python, although everyone advises learning Java.&nbsp;</li><li>If you want to get into our Lab, then learn databases, normalization, and relational databases. English also needs to be learned, but do not worry if you don’t have deep English experience, you can quickly learn enough to do what is needed.&nbsp;The main thing is not to be afraid to speak up, because everyone speaks with accents, that is certainly not a problem.&nbsp;</li><li>And if you don’t know where to go in the IT field, Data Quality is in great demand right now.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>Everyone who reached the end of the Lab got a job, regardless of their age and number of children. Everything is possible!<br></p>

<p>We thank <a href="https://wearecommunity.io/" target="_blank">wearecommunity.io</a> and <a href="https://wearecommunity.io/communities/datazencommunity" target="_blank">Data zen community</a> for the provided material.</p>
<p>You can see what vacancies are currently available in IT in <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/work/noborders" target="_blank">Work</a>.</p>

Main_data_engineering.png

Life in IT after forty is just beginning. Olga Bykhovtsova’s example proves that it is never too late to start realizing a dream. She lost her job at a bank, but did not despair. Instead, Olga pivoted into IT: the path was not easy, but it was worth it. Today she is a Data Quality Engineer in a large international company, and she shares her success story below in her own words

“I Kept a Project Management Board on My Refrigerator”: The Real Story of a Radical Change in Profession

Olga Bykhovtsova lost her job at a bank, but did not despair. Instead, Olga pivoted into IT: the path was not easy, but it was worth it

What is Data Quality

<h1>Top 5 Startup Books to Read in 2022</h1>
<p><em>What books about startups should you read before launching your project? Anastasia Zaiceva, Head of Communications at ZiMAD, has prepared a list of the most useful books for aspiring startups especially for the Anywhere Club blog. She identifies and discusses her choices below. </em></p><p><img data-image="pkk5vu6dgfo9" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltcbacbf24edbf737d/62daa04237fc046614f8c09a/Anastasia_Zaiceva.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltcbacbf24edbf737d" alt="Anastasia Zaiceva"></p>
<p>— Creating a startup from scratch without previous experience in serial entrepreneurship is extremely difficult. It’s great if you are surrounded by more experienced colleagues who can mentor you and your project. But what if you are working alone to face the issues of idea implementation, team selection, and fundraising? A lack of quick answers can definitely affect your mood; it can even cause a budding entrepreneur to become depressed. To help you, I compiled a list of top books about startups. These books may not tell you exactly how to run a business —&nbsp;information about the state of the market changes too quickly for that — but they will help you get inspired, establish more efficient processes, and give you a view behind the scenes of the startup world. </p>
<p>The best books about startups, in my opinion:</p><h2>1.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zero-to-One-audiobook/dp/B00M284NY2/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=QA1lt&content-id=amzn1.sym.91202c6f-1c11-4e3d-b51a-3af958cedd30&pf_rd_p=91202c6f-1c11-4e3d-b51a-3af958cedd30&pf_rd_r=80YTNNN1SMJ4RCCEV1QY&pd_rd_wg=kxSTM&pd_rd_r=73a405d9-03c9-4ee0-84c4-cf398aeffcfc&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank">Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future</a>, by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters</h2><p><img data-image="y0ndza35jx3v" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltc13e3063770ae60b/62e0c2f84d9e7a6c51febbfa/eng1.png" data-sys-asset-uid="bltc13e3063770ae60b" alt="Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future"></p><ol></ol>
<p>This is a useful book from a working entrepreneur and investor. Peter was one of the founders of PayPal and the first significant outside investor in Facebook. He knows firsthand about the life of a founder, which makes the information even more valuable. In this book, you will find the answer to the question of how to create a company from scratch and lead it to success, making it a market leader.</p>
<p>As Peter explains in the book, </p>
<p><em>“Tolstoy opens Anna Karenina by observing: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Business is the opposite. All happy companies are different: each one earns a monopoly by solving a unique problem. All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition.”</em></p>
<p>Read about how to create companies that really change the world, and don’t just focus on making a profit. After all, the main task of startups is to solve the problems of users, and not to enrich their creators: that is just a nice side benefit.</p><h2>2.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Tony-Hsieh-audiobook/dp/B003QADCNS/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=aRfV1&content-id=amzn1.sym.91202c6f-1c11-4e3d-b51a-3af958cedd30&pf_rd_p=91202c6f-1c11-4e3d-b51a-3af958cedd30&pf_rd_r=DXK8R8B9N1CT1896VZFG&pd_rd_wg=ld1hG&pd_rd_r=8b1957d9-7a77-4ad8-af4a-82604aab1cc6&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank">Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose</a>, byTony Hsieh</h2><p><img data-image="28omkkxnkrt3" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt59fae4a06f94c8c1/62e0c2f823241d5e0cb4d8d0/eng2.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt59fae4a06f94c8c1" alt="Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose"></p>
<p>The founder of a startup (Zappos) that was sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion clearly knew how to build a team from scratch. His book details the difficult path of a young entrepreneur without sugar-coating the journey, and shows you the success that he achieved. The book is about motivation, development, the formation of personal and corporate values, team building, team relationships and the general struggle for results.</p>
<p>In the book, Tony shared his belief that <em>“For individuals, character is destiny. For organizations, culture is destiny.” </em></p>
<p>The book tells a very "American” story, highlighting that everyone has difficulties and challenges, but generally can overcome them. It provides concrete suggestions for achieving success, and shows that business success and happiness can both be achieved.</p><h2> 3.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rework-Jason-Fried/dp/0307463745" target="_blank">Rework</a>, by Jason Fried and David  Heinemeier Hansson</h2><p><img data-image="l3o23gmy2cp3" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt823d8024c05c89dc/62e0c2f848cc366ab540850d/eng3.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt823d8024c05c89dc" alt="Rework"></p>
<p>This book takes a unique approach to achieving business success. It rethinks existing workflows and talks about how to make them faster. A key idea is that in order to achieve your goal, you can work with what you have at hand: you really don’t need all of the things that you think are required for success.</p>
<p>The authors explain: <em>“Workaholics don't actually accomplish more than nonworkaholics. They may claim to be perfectionists, but that just mean they're wasting time fixating on inconsequential details instead of moving on to the next task.” </em></p>
<p>I recommend this book to all entrepreneurs who are moving from a large and comfortable corporation to a small startup, where each employee is a human orchestra.</p><h2>4.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Is-Key-Ryan-Holiday-audiobook/dp/B07QR7LMXR/ref=sr_1_5?crid=WZX652XDBOLF&keywords=ryan+holiday&qid=1657195091&s=books&sprefix=power+of+tranquility+rayan+holiday%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C193&sr=1-5" target="_blank">Stillness Is the Key</a>, by Ryan Holiday </h2><p><img data-image="97v46zkhx123" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltfc3c62bf72823f1c/62e0c2f82cae425c988e7a31/eng4.png" data-sys-asset-uid="bltfc3c62bf72823f1c" alt="Stillness Is the Key"></p>
<p>Drawing on Buddhist philosophy in a very pleasant and modern way, Ryan uses examples from the lives of leaders and visionaries to illustrate how important it is not to be ruled by emotions and to instead remain calm when making decisions and moving through life.</p>
<p>As he explains it: <em>“The less energy we waste regretting the past or worrying about the future, the more energy we will have for what’s in front of us.” </em></p>
<p>The ability to remain calm is a key skill of the modern entrepreneur. Our world is changing fast and the digital environment is developing at a cosmic speed. It is important for a novice entrepreneur to be able to slow down, calmly focus, and consider situations with fresh eyes and a sober mind.</p><h2>5.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X">Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future</a>, by Ashlee Vance</h2><p><img data-image="ccf7923jsk39" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt34a781b3bf1840ed/62e0c2f88a02c46abb015154/eng5.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blt34a781b3bf1840ed" alt="Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future"></p>
<p>It's hard to compile any list of the best books about startups without a biography of arguably the most ambitious and popular startup founder on the planet — Elon Musk. The author did a great job of talking with business associates and relatives of Elon, showing him through the eyes of those who actually know him.</p>
<p>As the author explains: <em>“When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people. That is what differentiates Elon from the rest of humanity.” </em></p>
<p>The book is interesting for its behind-the-scenes details of the largest transactions and it shows the development of some of the most famous startups in the world. It provides an opportunity to examine the venture capital world through the lens of an unpredictable, obsessed, genius, and an unquestionably influential player on the world stage.</p><h2>Conclusions</h2>
<p>— There is no universal business book that can guarantee that you will start a successful business in a month after reading it. But in every book, article, or post on social networks, you can find something useful specifically for your situation. So, try reading my top books for startups, learn something new that will help you move forward, and share useful information with others.<br></p>

<p>You can discuss the proposed list of books and other articles in our <a href="https://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a> channel.</p>

What books about startups should you read before launching your project? Anastasia Zaiceva, Head of Communications at ZiMAD, has prepared a list of the most useful books for aspiring startups especially for the Anywhere Club blog. She identifies and discusses her choices below.

best startup books

<h1>"Wroclaw — the Polish Silicon Valley": Life Hacks and Impressions of Moving to Poland</h1>
<p><em>What are PESEL and Meldunek? How much does it cost to play sports? What kind of entertainment is available? EPAM Java Script developer Andrey Shelengovskiy spoke about his relocation to Poland especially for Anywhere Club, and shares some of the things that he learned below.</em></p><p><img data-image="6lehyajz8yc2" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blt57e18e1c9b632d90/62da99fae49d4a6983cc206e/Andrei_Shelenhouski.JPEG" data-sys-asset-uid="blt57e18e1c9b632d90" alt="Andrei Shelenhouski"></p>
<p>— I had a desire to live abroad for a long time. Just over a year ago, I moved to Poland under the <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation program</a> from EPAM Anywhere. I had two cities to choose from: Wroclaw and Krakow. Since I always considered Krakow to be more touristy, my choice was Wroclaw. It is not a very large city – it has a population of about 600,000 people according to official figures, and more than a million according to unofficial ones. There are many educational institutions here, so you can feel a seasonal migration. With the beginning of the school year, you can find yourself spending hours in traffic jams.</p><h2>PESEL and Meldunek</h2>
<p>— The PESEL is a personal identification number assigned to Polish citizens and certain foreign citizens, and a Meldunek is a registered residence address. It's not hard to get either of them. For the Meldunek, you need to sign a lease for an apartment. Then you simply fill out an application in the local government office (Urząd) of your district. The application is in Polish, but there is dubbing into English, so it is not a problem. When you draw up a Meldunek, they will provide you with a PESEL if you don’t have one. If you do not want to register your address, but are just going to get a PESEL, there is a procedure for that. You fill out the questionnaire, and indicate that you want to receive PESEL for tax purposes. Previously, registration was mandatory in order to apply for a residence card. If I'm not mistaken, it is no longer required as of the beginning of this year. In principle, any foreign citizen must register in Poland after 30 days, but I haven't heard of anyone following this requirement.</p>
<p>There is also something known as a Trusted Profile (Profil Zaufany). This is a free tool that allows you to verify your identity online to deal with government agencies. To get it, you register on the site, go to the Urząd, verify your profile, and then resolve your issues, such as ordering certificates and statements, dealing with health information online, etc.</p><p><img data-image="22b2ry1gm39c" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blta73f055b40323705/62da99fa6b0f32698945e2e2/Poland_2.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blta73f055b40323705" alt="Poland views"></p><h2>Apartment and internet</h2>
<p>— A one-bedroom apartment outside the center of Wroclaw costs about $600, which includes utility bills (water, electricity) and the deduction for the owners. I pay for the Internet separately from my rent, it costs $12-13 per month. The quality of the Internet in Poland, however, leaves much to be desired. I live in a young “up and coming” area, that has a lot of construction work going on, so something often breaks and causes the Internet to disappear altogether for a period of time. With mobile communications, it’s the same story. I often hear complaints that people can't get through to me. Although the Internet and mobile communications are quite cheap here — for $7 I have 30 GB of traffic, unlimited calls, SMS, and 4 GB in roaming throughout Europe - this does not mean that you will be in touch all the time.</p>
<p>Some resources that you can use for your property search include:</p><ul><li><a href="https://t.me/mieszkanie_wroclaw_RIEL_GO" target="_blank">RIEL_GO</a></li><li><a href="https://t.me/rielgobot" target="_blank">rielgobot</a></li><li><a href="https://www.olx.pl/" target="_blank">olx.pl</a></li><li><a href="https://www.otodom.pl/" target="_blank">otodom.pl</a></li></ul>
<p></p>
<p>A useful life hack: if you choose <a href="https://flex.orange.pl/" target="_blank">Orange Flex</a> as a mobile operator, you can connect a Polish number even before arriving in the country via the Internet (using e-sim). You can choose a number, a tariff plan for yourself, and even share traffic with friends.</p><h2>Language and medicine</h2>
<p>— Of course, you need to learn Polish — I think you should at least know some of the language out of respect for the country where you live. A month after moving here, I began to understand what people around were saying. It is still difficult to speak for myself, because there is no one to practice with on a regular basis. I have a few Polish speakers that I know, but more chances to speak the language casually would definitely be helpful. It may be easier for Belarusians to understand the Polish language, since it is like Belarusian, except the stress always falls on the penultimate syllable. In general, young people speak English well, and older people do not speak it quite as well, but Google Translate can help.</p>
<p>If it becomes necessary to visit a doctor, it would be better to be prepared to explain what hurts you in English. Although you can find a Russian-speaking doctor.</p>
<p>In addition to state health insurance, you can also purchase commercial insurance. This costs about $50 per month and allows you to be served in a private medical center. People say that service in public clinics is not good enough. I decided not to find out.</p><p><img data-image="epoaklvarbry" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/blte97698878cc7508e/62da99fa2cae425c988e71fe/Poland_1.png" data-sys-asset-uid="blte97698878cc7508e" alt="Poland"></p><h2>Entertainment</h2>
<p>— There is certainly plenty of entertainment. You can watch movies in their original language and thereby practice English. I also go to the gym. It's not cheap —&nbsp;$400 a month for three sessions a week with a trainer. I’ve heard that there is a card —&nbsp;Multisport – that costs about $50 and allows you unlimited access to gyms and pools that participate in the plan associated with the card. Definitely something to consider. In addition, there is always travel. We must not forget that Poland is advantageously located — Germany and the Czech Republic are nearby, and there are many low-cost flights available from the local airport. I’m greedy —&nbsp;I want to go everywhere and see everything. So, my expenses for entertainment are impressive. </p>
<p>Other things to do in Wroclaw include:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.torkartingowy.eu/" target="_blank">Karting track</a></li><li><a href="https://zoo.wroclaw.pl/" target="_blank">Zoo</a></li><li><a href="https://hydropolis.pl/" target="_blank">Water Knowledge Center</a></li><li><a href="https://kolejkowo.pl/" target="_blank">Wroclaw in miniature</a></li><li><a href="https://aquapark.wroc.pl/" target="_blank">Aquapark</a></li></ul>
<p></p><h2>Work options</h2>
<p>—&nbsp;You can work in Poland as an employee (like me) or for yourself. There are two options for self-employment here:</p><ul><li>be an individual entrepreneur and open your own business — but this option is not available to all foreigners; or</li><li>create an account in a business incubator — which offers a number of privileges, such as reduced tax rates.</li></ul>
<p></p><h2>IT community </h2>
<p>— Wroclaw is something like Silicon Valley in Poland. There are many product companies and development centers here. You can see the offices of famous companies such as Ryanair, plus Belarusian and Ukrainian outsourcers have begun to catch up, including: iTechArt, Luxsoft, and others.</p>
<p>So far, I like everything about Poland. There are definitely more pluses than minuses. I’ll share a list of useful applications with you:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.urbancard.pl/" target="_blank">UrbanCard</a>&nbsp;— to pay for public transport.</li><li><a href="https://www.wroclaw.pl/nasz-wroclaw/" target="_blank">Nasz Wrocław</a>&nbsp;— a virtual city dweller card with discounts (and even free tickets) for visiting local entertainment.</li><li><a href="https://jakdojade.pl/lista-miast" target="_blank">Jakdojade</a>&nbsp;— application for planning public transport routes.</li><li><a href="https://www.orlen.pl/en/for-you/mobile-apps/orlen-pay" target="_blank">Orlen Pay</a>, <a href="https://vitay.pl/" target="_blank">Orlen Vitay</a>, <a href="https://pay.go.lotos.pl/#/" target="_blank">Lotos Pay&Go</a>&nbsp;— to pay for fuel at gas stations directly from the application.</li><li><a href="https://etoll.gov.pl/" target="_blank">E-toll</a>&nbsp;— to pay for toll sections of roads A4 and A2 (in <a href="https://www.orlen.pl/en/for-you/mobile-apps/orlen-pay" target="_blank">Orlen Pay</a>&nbsp;— purchase of electronic tickets for travel on toll roads is available, but <a href="https://etoll.gov.pl/" target="_blank">E-toll</a> tracks and writes off payment for the actually traveled sections).</li></ul>

<p>We invite you to discuss relocation to Poland in the <a href="https://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a> channel.</p>

What are PESEL and Meldunek? How much does it cost to play sports? What kind of entertainment is available? EPAM Java Script developer Andrey Shelengovskiy spoke about his relocation to Poland especially for Anywhere Club, and shares some of the things that he learned below.

"Wroclaw — the Polish Silicon Valley": life hacks and impressions of moving to Poland

What are PESEL and Meldunek? How much does it cost to play sports? What kind of entertainment is available?

relocate to Poland

<h1>“My Family Moved to the Sea, but in Two Years I Never Swam, and My Parents Are Always Busy”: Family Traumas in Emigration</h1>
<p><em>Many of relocants are married couples. Psychologist Galina Bobko told Anywhere Club about some of the challenges that families may experience when moving to another country.</em></p><p><img data-image="gj4936e8enke" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt892f41c9788ae399/bltbbf25f2e8435a0fd/62e3aa4b4ec9fe660e803f81/Galina_Bobko.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltbbf25f2e8435a0fd" alt="Galina Bobko"></p>
<p>— Your family can make it easier to endure the difficulties of adaptation after a <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation</a>, but problems, conflicts, quarrels, and relationship challenges are quite common among those who have moved. Mutual support is very important, but it may not always be enough to withstand the pressure of relocation challenges.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380348/" target="_blank">evidence</a>&nbsp;that marital status, and the presence of children can affect the emotional state of relocators.&nbsp;According to these studies, the level of emotional problems increases over time. The most stable position is&nbsp;in the following categories (in descending order):&nbsp;</p><ol><li>Couple without children;</li><li>Couple with children;</li><li>Divorced without children;</li><li>Those who raise a child alone. </li></ol>
<p></p>
<p>The support of a partner can make it easier to go through all of the stages of adaptation, but does not protect against conflicts. </p>
<p></p><h2>Some causes of family problems after relocation</h2><h3>Occupational unemployment of one of the partners</h3>
<p>— In couples, this seems to be more commonly experienced by women. Frequently, one of the partners quickly adapts, learns the language, socializes, and — as a result — the overall level of family integration in the new country looks quite positive. If the other partner, who is slower to integrate, is not included in the family’s transition, however, the differences between the couple can become a heavy burden. This raises the question of whether the first partner will have enough patience and strength to wait until the other partner acclimates. </p>
<p>Sometimes, the feeling of loneliness and isolation in the partner who is slower to adapt can cause problems with alcohol, or other destructive behaviors. It may also result in anger, envy, or resentment directed at the partner who seems to be adapting more quickly, says Oksana Korzun in her book “How to Move to Another Country and Not Die From Homesickness”.</p>
<p></p><h3>Changing family roles</h3>
<p>— With changes in the environment, infrastructure, routine, and daily workload in the family, the traditional roles and responsibilities of the various family members may change as a result. Suppose one spouse finds a job with a longer-than-usual commute to the office, while the other spouse has the opportunity to work from home. Perhaps one of the spouses will start earning more or less than usual. These situations can result in upheaval within the family, which can be uncomfortable for all of its members.</p>
<p></p><h3>Focusing exclusively on the child’s happiness</h3>
<p>— Another challenging scenario can arise when parents, with the best of intentions, do everything to make the childrens’ adaptation as comfortable as possible, and forget about themselves. The children may quickly integrate, learn a new language, and make friends as a result. They may then find themselves having to take over some parental functions, sometimes feeling ashamed that their parents have not developed as well as the children have.</p>
<p></p><h2>Potential difficulties faced by children</h2>
<p>— Starting a new life in another country is difficult for every member of the family, not just the parents. Choosing a school, completing documents, and getting to know the teachers and parents of the children with whom your child will study are all important and difficult parental tasks. </p>
<p>Sometimes, overwhelmed parents have unrealistic expectations about how easily their children will acclimate, expecting that they will settle in to a new life without the kinds of stresses faced by the parents. In practice, such magic does not always happen. Left alone with an entirely new and unfamiliar group of peers, a child may withdraw and wish for a return to the family’s former home, life, and friends. A relocation can be particularly challenging for adolescents, who face potential rejection by their new peer group.</p>
<p>In an emigration situation, the parents are experiencing their own emotional reactions and may not be capable of offering the kind of support their child needs and is used to receiving. This can magnify the impact of the changes on the children.</p>
<p>The situation can be further complicated by the fact that the child may not have a rational or emotional understanding of why the family moved. “My family moved to the sea, but in two years I never swam, and my parents are always busy,” complains a young teenager, now living in France.</p>
<p>Remember that children do not have the same emotional resources that adults do. Self-esteem, social experience, the ability to establish emotional contacts, and overcome difficult situations – generally, all of these qualities develop as we mature, and it is unrealistic to expect children to have the same capabilities as adults. As a parent, setting the tone for how the family adapts, and providing support for the other family members can play a critical role in how your children adjust. Set an example as best you can – show your children how you cope with difficulties, without expecting too much of them.</p>
<p>And remember that your child’s mental and emotional states are affected by any conflicts between their parents and the new or former country, which can impact how smoothly and well your child adapts to a new society. The absence of roots and a lack of identification with the new country, or a cynical attitude towards it, can interfere with the process of healthy integration. It can be helpful to explain to your child that they still have a connection with the language, relatives, and culture of their former country, and that they can still learn about, enjoy, and respect the place where you live now. “There is a lot I don’t like in this country, but I always remember that I moved here, so I play by the local rules,” Yuriy, 50 years old, 13 years in Montenegro.</p>
<p>— The formula for successful family adaptation is simple and complex at the same time. Having family, and others you are close to, nearby can certainly help you cope with difficult situations that you will experience as a part of your relocation. But your successful navigation of the stages of integration also depends on how ready you and your family members are to patiently accept your new situation. It can help to understand that you, as representatives of your family, nationality, and culture, can bring with you and preserve your history, traditions, and values in your new country, while learning to appreciate what it has to offer.<br></p>

<p>You can discuss <a href="https://aw.club/global/en/relocate" target="_blank">relocation</a> and many other topics on our <a href="http://epa.ms/acd" target="_blank">Discord</a> channel.</p>

Many of relocants are married couples. Psychologist Galina Bobko told Anywhere Club about some of the challenges that families may experience when moving to another country

“My family moved to the sea, but in two years I never swam, and my parents are always busy”: family traumas in emigration

The challenges that families may experience when moving to another country

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