Meet Andriy Piskovyi — a Java backend course mentor, teacher, and developer with many years of experience. His path into IT began long before the industry became mainstream, and today Andriy passes knowledge on to beginners and helps build communities around Java and volunteer projects.

How it all began: BASIC, a computer center, and teaching

Andriy wrote his first program in 1989 in BASIC. In his hometown of Znamianka, there was a computer center thanks to the local “Puanson” defense plant. The machines there were already networked back then, which made it possible to play with friends over a local network even before the internet appeared.

This passion led Andriy to the Kropyvnytskyi Pedagogical University, where he became an informatics teacher.

The question “when did you get into IT?” is tricky, because what counts as IT? Is being an informatics teacher already IT or not?

“Did I always know who I wanted to be? Not at all…” the mentor shares. In ’97 Andriy was teaching informatics, but months without pay, strikes, and life itself suggested a new route — a job in a bank. Then in 2008, when the financial crisis hit, he had to start almost from scratch:

“I literally became a junior web developer after ten years in banking IT. My salary dropped fivefold. Did I want that? Not really. But it was fun,” Andriy says, so he advises not to be afraid of changes: “If you’re curious — go for it. Even if you’re no longer 20 or even 30. It’s normal to try yourself anew at any age.”

Where do you find a junior Java dev? Grow one from scratch!

In 2021, Andriy was looking for an assistant to work in the Kropyvnytskyi office — and couldn’t find one. He started asking around, posted on LinkedIn — no results. That’s how the idea to create his own Java course at School++ was born. He wrote down the questions he usually asks in interviews and transformed them into a training program designed for three months of immersion in backend.

The motivation was simple: to find someone who could work side by side. But within a year, during blackouts and the war, the course became something bigger — support, community, and a place to focus on something constructive. In 2023 a new motivation appeared — to do something useful: seek out stakeholders and build projects on a volunteer basis. Unfortunately, it hasn’t moved beyond student ideas yet, so feel free to reach out.

Who reaches the finish line: the talented or the diligent?

When it comes to students, Andriy honestly says that talent is great but not required — curiosity matters more: “We sometimes have very capable students who grasp things quickly but stay a bit superficial. And there are those for whom it’s hard, but they dig, explore, and push through. Those are the ones who usually learn more deeply.”

When everything works on the first try, you don’t learn much. But when you make mistakes, search, break, and rebuild — you not only gain theoretical knowledge, you also develop problem‑solving skills and a taste for IT quests.

“Curiosity and the desire to figure things out are a bigger plus than natural talent,” Andriy is convinced.

On mentorship and course challenges

Andriy emphasizes that the course works best when there are several mentors: one leads theory, another supports the team in a real project. That’s how the course becomes as practical and alive as possible. We’re always glad when new mentors join School++ — experienced developers or alumni.

A mentor doesn’t command; a mentor points the way. The most important thing is not to let a student “bury” themself in details. At the same time, don’t prevent them from digging deep enough. IT isn’t about superficiality — it’s about continuous learning.

The best moment is when at the end of the course a student says: “I’m not afraid of anything in IT anymore.”

This is about more than code — it’s about self‑confidence and readiness to face challenges. Unknown technologies stop being scary when you know what exactly to do to understand them and how long it will take.

“From that moment on, I consider the course complete — you can go into the real world,” the mentor says warmly about graduates.