Andrei | Brazil

Humble beginnings

Andrei was born and raised in a city in southern Brazil with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. His parents didn’t have the chance to complete their studies and struggled financially. Andrei’s dad worked as a joiner, and his mom had to retire early due to health problems.

Andrei, who always liked math and technology, aspired to have a successful career. But how? Since he was young, he thought that participating in the Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad would be a great idea. “I took part in the Olympiad four times before finally receiving an honorable mention when I was 11. It was not a medal, but it made me extremely proud because all I had at home were two books to prepare for it,” said Andrei.

Life went on. He joined a free preparation course to take the university entrance exam. He had to take a 2-hour bus ride every day back and forth and walk 1km in the dark coming home, but he managed to get into a public university to study engineering. He graduated during the pandemic, but struggled financially relying solely on a scholarship to survive.

One day, he was scrolling Instagram, and he came across Generation Brasil’s Full Stack Java Developer program, which was open to applicants under the age of 30 who had received either a medal or an honorable mention in the Math Olympics. He was excited about meeting the criteria for this opportunity and applied.

Overcoming adversity

“It completely changed my life! Not only did I gain technical skills, but I also developed soft skills and received psychological support during the process. It was tough, but I persisted, and my whole life improved.”

One month after graduating in 2022, he became a Junior Back-End Developer at one of the  companies sponsoring his Generation cohort. Last February, he changed jobs, becoming a Senior Developer at Dexian Brasil.

Regarding what his parents think about his job, he says they are proud despite not fully understanding what he does. Still, when he takes a 12-hour bus ride to spend time with them, his dad stares at the computer while he is coding, absolutely impressed about his remote work.

“I am extremely happy that I can help them when possible, but mainly that my financial situation is no longer a source of concern for my parents. And Generation played a vital role in transforming my life. I hope that Generation can transform many more lives!”