At DataArt, we empower our team members to future-proof their careers through continuous learning, upskilling, and reskilling. Our TalentLab and Learning Ecosystem offers unique opportunities for those eager to explore new roles, transition career paths, engage in real projects, and enhance their expertise — all while remaining employed and without taking unnecessary risks. We asked ten colleagues to share their experiences with career shifts and tell us what it's like to embrace an entirely new profession while staying within the same workplace.
Elena Haleta (HR > BA)
I chose the direction of business analysis because I have well-developed analytical skills, know how to collect and organize information, and like to communicate with people. I was also familiar with some of BA’s tasks.
I really liked working at TalentLab. It helped me a lot. I participated in an interesting project where I was able to practice the techniques and tasks that I had learned during the Tech Skills Mentoring Program. I made my first discovery, which I later presented as my portfolio, and, together with feedback from TalentLab, it confirmed my competencies. I’m happy I chose this path and will soon start working on a new project. Thanks to the TalentLab team for all the support I got!
Elizaveta Nyarko (Content Manager > PM)
When it came to changing my position within DataArt, I definitely knew I wanted to be a PM. Managing and leading are my true passions. I like working with people and being supportive and helpful. I am curious to learn and get acquainted with new things.
TalentLab helped me gain experience working with the classic development model – back-end and front-end teams. I had difficulties understanding the processes between developers and creating the tasks for a dev team, but TalentLab mentors were extremely helpful and supportive. Later, the account I was working with received a new offer from the client, and they invited me to be one of the PMs. My TalentLab experience also helped me to get my junior PM qualification.
Alexander Fedynyshynets (Webmaster > JS Dev)
For a long time, I had the idea to study React. I made several attempts but never finished my studies because there were always other tasks. TalentLab really helped me learn React. A mentor guided me in the right direction, accelerating the search for the best solution, and I learned best practices used in real projects. Having a real project with a real team greatly speeded up my learning process.
My main advice is to be prepared for a lot of self-education. Mentors show the path, no one will come and teach you directly —it's up to you and your efforts to make a success of it
Svitlana Tytska (QA > BA)
I was excited to find out about DataArt’s TalentLab because it offered the opportunity:
✓ To work on various projects, gaining experience in fields I had not explored previously (e.g., how to work with stories, e-commerce projects, etc.)
✓ To enhance my communication skills
✓ To receive feedback from an experienced Lead BA.
The only difficulty I remember was finding the time to manage all the tasks when I had several projects going on at once. It was an intriguing journey. Thank you for creating such a place where it’s possible to gain new knowledge and acquire the experience you've always dreamed of!
Olga Pochtoviuk (HR > PM)
TalentLab was a great opportunity for me to get practical experience in team management. As my project in TalentLab was not commercial, I had time to learn and not be scared about making mistakes.
The most difficult thing for me was starting because I only had a theoretical background. Another tricky part was that colleagues work on a project with you mostly during their Idle, so you never know how long they’ll stay with you. One day, you can find out that two team members are leaving to do a billable project, and you need to find new people.
However, the TalentLab management team will guide you through the whole process. I wish all our colleagues to find the best projects for them! TalentLab definitely can help with this.
Vladislava Pashchenko (Content Manager > PM)
When the full-scale war in Ukraine started, we experienced resource changes in my project. Our new DM suggested all content leads take over PM responsibilities. This was familiar to me because I had such an experience. Thanks to our program manager, who helped build a training system and a mentoring program, my PM path in DataArt began.
TalentLab is an excellent opportunity to understand a real project and how it works. Everything is real here, not a sandbox where people just do what they want. In my case, I understood what it means to close a project during the discovery phase. While developing the requirements, we discovered other tools could replace our project.
It was challenging to find a project because not many wanted to take on a junior PM. However, it worked with my old project. Now, with the help of our Learning and Development group, I want to update my qualifications soon and hope it will help me find new projects easily.
Lidiia Haidukova (MS SQL DB > PM)
When I decided to switch fields and become a PM, I used all the necessary experience from my work as a dev. I still needed to learn how to be a PM and manage people, so I chose TalentLab as the first step to make this jump. TalentLab is a very motivating project. You can easily learn how to be a manager and dive deep into it.
I try to manage my team effectively and want to deliver efficiently. I don't want to be a "pushy" manager, but sometimes I must be. I strive to give my team a lot of possibilities to grow and not to micromanage.
Iryna Baruzdina (Interview coach > BA)
When I decided to switch to a new specialization, I realized I had a lot of skills that BAs require for their job. I made the correct decision to join the TalentLab. I got into a very caring and helpful team and gained priceless experience.
The main issue was choosing THE ONE among an infinite set of courses. After months of selection, I decided to talk to Denys Gobov, the Head of BA Competence, and he pointed me in the right direction, suggesting the BA Basics course on his platform, The Art of Business Analysis. The lessons were simple and interesting, and it was not hard to learn BA with a professional and skilled tutor.
After completing the course, I had two interviews with internal projects in DataArt and got into one of them while being a Trainee BA and completing the internship program.
Ernest Khachanov (Content Manager > QA)
I’ve had the idea to switch to QA for a long time. After a year and a half of working as a Content Manager, I took an internal testing course and gained the qualifications to continue working in this direction. I am impressed with QA because of its simplicity and seriousness at the same time. I like to be involved in the process of creating a quality product.
At TalentLab, I learned how to use many tools, gained extensive experience writing test cases, and, most importantly, working on a real project. As a specialist who already works in IT, I have not encountered any big problems, and all the unclear points were immediately resolved after discussing them with my mentor.
If you feel the strength and desire to find a new specialty, go for it! DataArt gives you all the opportunities for your development. Training resources are always available to colleagues. I also want to highlight the high level of mentors and the individual approach to students.
Afanasiy Illarionov (JS dev > .NET dev)
I had a chance to participate in the TalentLab program training C# developers. I’ve always been interested in backend technologies and couldn’t miss this opportunity. Thanks to TalentLab, I qualified as a .NET developer and successfully passed an interview for the backend developer position on a large project.
The TalentLab program is well suited for those who want to gain practical experience in new technologies or tighten their skills. In TalentLab, you work in a team, improving your interaction skills. I liked the significant attention paid to practical parts, where we had the opportunity to work with modern and in-demand technologies such as ASP.NET, MS SQL, Entity Framework, Teamcity, GIT, IIS, etc.
I want to thank everyone who participated in the project and wish everyone success. I would especially like to thank my mentor Vladislav Furdak, and Elena Verbitskaya from TalentLab for their help and leadership.
Thanks to our colleagues for sharing their experiences. DataArt is a partner for progress throughout every stage of our teammates' careers, encouraging them to take risks, grow, and evolve. As Iryna Baruzdina said, “My advice? No pain, no gain. Everything will work out; you just need to try!”
