I believe that I was lucky when I got into PCS.

I believe that I was lucky when I got into PCS. Our group was one of the last who studied on campus before COVID19. All students and staff look like a big family, the school environment is very friendly and I enjoined every single day when I was in school. I would say that career change is not an easy path and first of all, you need to rely on yourself rather than anybody else. Teachers always help you but they cannot do your job. I had to study not only in lessons but after lessons and after the course. It took me a lot of time to get into everything but I finally to get a job as QA Automation Engineer. I really appreciate the help and guidance I was provided. Guys, you all will be in my heart forever.

There was a time in my life when I needed to change everything

There was a time in my life when I needed to change everything, career path included. I wasn't young and bold; starting everything anew was kinda scary. When I heard about Portnov Computer School, I liked what I heard. First, I always wanted to be in IT, but I didn't feel programming was exactly my thing, so SQA felt just right. Second, they said in Portnov's School they really care what happens to the people they teach. I'm glad to say it appeared to be true. I could tell you about great teachers (there are great people working there, indeed), but what makes the School special is that they are really trying their best to put you in the industry, not just give you the specified amount of lessons in hours. Of course, a lot still depends on you. What I mean, if you really wish to reach your goal, they are always willing to assist you. I am a living proof: I managed to find a job in SQA during these unhappy COVID times. I owe it to Portnov School. Many thanks!

There are just not enough nice words I can say about Portnov and the training

There are just not enough nice words I can say about Portnov and the training I have received in Express QA, the Internship they provided, and our Test Automation Bootcamp. I have been at Bootcamp on Mon and Thurs, and we are supported by additional team "homework study group" meetings on Tue and Friday.Training is done in "Portnov style" which means technical theory, backed by extensive practice with commercially used tools and methods. As always I have also received really good career and job searching assistance. I'm currently working with the school on interviewing practice (i.e. Job Clearance), and I have received great help with resume work and establishing online job searching profiles. Until I pass clearance, I will not be actively applying to many positions because I need the interviewing practice (it's been 14 years), but even if I didn't, because of the time it takes to do Bootcamp. ;-)Nevertheless, just passively having my resume and LinkedIn profile out there, has already generated a recruiter screening and coding assessment. My thanks to Slava, our Bootcamp teacher. I received 100% on the WebDriver coding assessment. Even though I have not heard back from Tesla or the recruiter, that is the best proof I can offer that this program is worth the cost and effort. We're not even finished with Bootcamp, and I aced a staff level QA automation assessment.As far as status, sorry for being scarce. I'm really just slammed with coding work and occasional job searches.Once again, thanks to NOVA for making all this possible. :-) Please call me if you have any specific questions.

Dear student or anyone who is looking for a career change

Dear student or anyone who is looking for a career change, My experience with Portnov Computer school was a big step in my life, and I deeply appreciate the choice. All the teachers are very professional and kind, they are not just teachers - they are real QA engineers and Project Managers, some of them even business owners in a technology stack. They make you feel important and give you a confidence when you need it the most. All programs are up to date and the knowledge you get is in real-life demand. Everybody who is persistent and pursues a personal learning goal gets to the point. Support and practice on real projects are guaranteed. After finishing school everybody is getting an internship to practice even more in development teams where there is a big chance to get hired. I have no other words but thank you to Portnov school and wish them prosperity and success!

Just want to say ...

Just want to say that when I started a basic course of Mikhail, I did not have any knowledge about QA. Unfortunately for some personal reasons it took 1,5 years for me to go to a job market after graduation. Mikhail not only teaches how to be a good tester, but also how to be well prepared for an interview and gives a lot of inspiration and self-confidence to his students. The main idea you should follow his recommendations, to be 200% committed and continuously learn the tools you want to add to your resume - this is enough to get a job offer as a manual QA. When I entered the job market, with each call I was gaining an experience of how to talk to recruiters and potential employers, of course, I had fails, but I took them as an experience and a reason to continuously improve my skills and my knowledge. That pushed me to take Galina’s Bootcamp. Galina’s course is amazing! For 6 weeks, we have learned how to work with test management and bug tracking tools, to write test cases and bug reports, got basic knowledge of REST API in Postman, SQL, were familiarized with GitHub, Jenkins and Test Automaton tools and how to write a code for test automation and also touched a lot of important interview questions. A good point that because of limited people in Bootcamp, you get all your questions answered and a lot of practice. After this course, you will be comfortable not only to pass an interview but also it will be easier at the job place in the first stressful days. I would like to thank Mikhail for his course, motivation, and great tips for interview skills, and also I want to thank Galina for this outstanding course, your efforts, teaching, and patience!

Hi Mikhail!

Hi Mikhail! Last week the bootcamp with Tatya ended and I am still impressed. It was a great energizing program, also working in a team with nice people real products and clients - I really enjoyed it. I’m now very confident and actually answering recruiter’s questions. Thanks! Make this camp mandatory for all, it really helps.

If you are looking for a job

If you are looking for a job as a QA Engineer, with/without prior experience, then Portnov Computer School is the best institute in Bay area that you could rely on. They have a structured curriculum and are well aware of the present industrial needs, which keeps the students up-to-date and relevant to QA field. My background was in Electronics and Communication. But after gaining QA knowledge from Portnov, I easily got into a company as an intern and then into a permanent position in the same company. All thanks to God and of course Portnov for helping me achieve what I needed. All the best to Portnov and their aspiring QA candidates.