Portrait of IT pro in Estonia (week 8)

 In my opinion, some aspects of IT pro in Estonia (and in the world) remain and will remain the same but others are shifting.

Experience is still majorly more valued than university diploma. Unless person wants to move into academia field, Estonian companies don't really care about his education. However, even for junior position 1-2 years of experience are sometimes required. I know a few stories where people who finished their BSc in IT were struggling to find a job and had to go the tech support route. At the same time, I know a few people who went to "Java courses" for 3 months and managed to land development position right after that.

That leads to another universal skill - the art of self-presentation. I believe this skill is relevant with Estonian IT pros. A lot of companies still do hiring through their HR and IT departments (in contrast to using some testing-and-hiring websites like hackerrank for example) so there is some room for maneuvering if one's skills are somewhat lacking but his art of speech is good enough. That way you can get some really incompetent colleagues.

The one thing that is changing, in my opinion, is that Estonian IT sphere has become vastly more multinational, especially in senior positions. Companies prefer to move a capable person and his family from another country rather than giving a chance or growing some talented locals. 

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