Alumni Spotlight – Emil Värnomasing

With kood/Jõhvi’s first graduation behind us, it’s time to meet our alumni!

Meet Emil Värnomasing, a 26-year-old from the heart of Estonia – Tartu. His story is anything but ordinary. Emil took a complete U-turn in his career, shifting from managing construction projects in Finland to coding his way into the future as a software engineer. And oh, did we mention he’s also one of the founders of a promising startup? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – time to explore Emil’s remarkable journey.

Choosing the Right Path

Emil began his path with a solid foundation—an object project manager in the construction industry, but he soon realized there was limited room for growth in his current role. He yearned for something more, something exciting. “I was previously interested in IT, which is why I went to vocational school to study it,” Emil explains.

Emil’s quest for knowledge led him to explore retraining in software development. However, his initial experience at the vocational school left much to be desired. He found himself stuck in theory, with a curriculum that was 70% centered around programming concepts rather than actual coding. Frustrated but determined, Emil went looking for an alternative.

That alternative came in the form of kood/Jõhvi. Emil was drawn to the practicality of the curriculum, where hands-on experience took center stage. “This was the alternative I had been looking for—practical tasks, which I believe are the only way to learn programming,” he says with confidence. At kood/Jõhvi, there were no professors or any other authorities telling him what to do; it was just Emil, the platform, and the opportunity to learn on his own terms.

Skill Development and Beyond

Emil’s journey at kood/Jõhvi was nothing short of transformational. “Learning at kood/Jõhvi was the best experience of my life,” he exclaims. The school gave him the confidence to tackle the unknown and the ability to learn independently—essential traits for any programmer.

But it didn’t stop there. He actively participated in the workshops and one of them was with Proekspert, one of kood/Jõhvi’s partners, where his skills and dedication caught the eye of a senior developer. This chance encounter led to an internship, which, in turn, became a full-time job. Even before finishing the full mandatory study program, Emil landed a job as a software engineer at Proekspert. All the skills he acquired at school continued to serve him well at work. 

Beyond that, he formed invaluable connections and even started his own startup with other students — Stealth Syntax, which is on a mission to develop solutions for data obfuscation and anonymization, helping businesses securely interact with large language models. Talk about ambition!

Future aspirations

As for the future, Emil has grand plans. “I aspire to become a senior developer and grow my startup into a large and successful company,” he declares confidently.

And this is just the beginning. Emil’s story is the first in our alumni success series, and it sets the bar high. As we continue to share the inspiring stories of our graduates, we’re excited to see how each unique journey unfolds.

So, there you have it—a tale of transformation, perseverance, and ambition. Emil Värnomasing proves that being in the right environment opens up a lot of right doors that were closed beforehand.

Stay tuned for more incredible stories from our graduates. Who knows, the next one might just be you!