From Lycos to DataArt Armenia: Alexander Burnazyan on his journey in IT

Alexander Burnazyen, city — Yerevan, Senior Solutions Architect at DataArt, Facebook

About me

I work at DataArt, holding the position of Solution Architect.

In 2002, I enrolled in the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Informatics at Yerevan State University. At that time, the Computer Science discipline in its conventional sense did not yet exist, and this program was the closest to it.

My journey in IT began early — at around 18 years old. At that time, the IT sector in Armenia was already developing, but on a much smaller scale: if today there are hundreds of IT companies operating in Yerevan, then back then there were only a few dozen. I was not actively job hunting, but I became interested in the opportunities available.

About my first IT job

In 2003, at university, I saw an advertisement recruiting students for free training courses offered by Lycos — one of the largest search engines before the rise of Google. Lycos had an office in Yerevan with a team of about 200 employees. In terms of development level and expertise, it was considered one of the strongest companies in the market. Lycos was the first in Armenia to launch a free student training program followed by internship invitations.

At first, I didn't pay attention to this advertisement, but then a friend suggested signing up — since there were no classes anyway. We submitted applications, passed the interview, and I was invited to the training. At Lycos, they used the Java language, which I had already started learning on my own. This helped during the interview: I talked about my project. It turned out that the interview was conducted by the team lead who was working on Lycos Chat — the company's most famous product in Europe.

In 2003, I was accepted into the program, in 2004 I started my internship, and by 2005 I signed my first employment contract as a junior developer. Until 2018, I formally did not change jobs. Lycos closed in 2009, but I stayed with its subsidiary structures, which simply changed names and legal forms — in fact, it was the same system.

Currently, I work at DataArt. My story with the company began in 2019. At that time, there were many opportunities in the market, and DataArt had just opened an office in Armenia — I became the 39th employee. Today, more than 500 people work in the Yerevan offices.

Before that, I worked for about 15 years in product companies, and I became interested in trying outsourcing. This format allowed me to work on different projects and technologies — it became an important step in my professional development.

About difficulties

I didn't have much experience with job interviews, and I rarely faced rejections.

After Lycos, I joined an American company that was just opening an office in Yerevan. There, I had to take an algorithmic test on HackerRank. Despite my university background, I didn't score enough — my first attempt was unsuccessful. This was my first serious rejection. At that time, algorithms were not yet a mandatory part of interviews, as they are now.

The company offered me another chance. I took two weeks, actively solved problems on HackerRank, refreshed my Computer Science theory knowledge, and successfully passed the selection on the second try. That's how I got a job at my second company — it was in 2019.

Education definitely helped in my job search. It was academic and gave me a solid foundation. At university, we didn't study directly what you encounter in practice, but knowledge of mathematics, algorithms, and logic greatly helps in quickly understanding new technologies.

Also, besides Hard Skills, Soft Skills are important. Diligence, responsibility, teamwork, and conflict resolution skills — all of these become especially important as you grow in your career. The higher the position, the more communication with people — colleagues, clients, management — and the more important good communication skills become.

Currently, the market is oversaturated, there are many layoffs, and companies often do not expand. There are fewer entry-level vacancies — mostly they are looking for middle and senior specialists. This is a global trend. But I believe that focusing only on experienced professionals is not the most forward-thinking strategy. Junior specialists with motivation and a fresh perspective can bring great value to a company. And those who understand this will win in the long run.

3 tips that will help a young specialist find a job in IT

It is important to pay attention to fundamental knowledge. Basic Computer Science principles remain relevant — they help better understand any technologies and learn them faster.

Currently, it is especially important to keep up with the development of artificial intelligence and related fields. I would advise studying not only AI itself, but also tools that help work more efficiently. I think soon the ability to effectively use such solutions will become a mandatory skill. The ability to quickly achieve high-quality results is a significant advantage.

And one more point — show initiative. Actively look for opportunities, understand what interests you, and don't be afraid to try new things.