Key Takeaways
- A bootcamp isn’t only for career changers: Hristo already held two engineering degrees and existing coding skills, but still found real value in a structured Data Science Bootcamp.
- Market timing mattered as much as skills: He tracked which industries were declining (nuclear energy in Germany) versus rising (data science, AI) before deciding to reskill.
- State funding made the decision easier: He researched sponsored courses through his local job agency rather than paying for a program himself.
The elegantly-dressed managers looked shocked. They were sitting behind a small desk in the pristine, newly-constructed office room where Hristo Goumnerov had asked to meet them. They were shocked because he’d had the audacity to do something nobody else had done before: he demanded that they keep their promises.
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Confronting his employer, and paying the price
‘The working hours, the medical insurance, the deals with the union, all the stuff they told me in our interview which turned out to be untrue, I asked them to make good on it,’ says Hristo, looking back on that fateful day. ‘A week later I received a letter telling me I was no longer welcome at the office. That’s when I started looking for a coding bootcamp.’
An engineer who already knew how to code
Hristo was not the sort of person you’d normally expect to sign up for a programming course: he held a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, and an MS in the same subject from Texas A&M University. He already had tangible skills in coding and mathematics, and after his education, he worked in the USA and in Europe as an engineer in sectors like energy, aerospace, material science, and others.
‘I returned to Europe because I missed the culture,’ recalls Hristo. ‘But when I came to Germany, I discovered all the talk about the “shortage of talent” in tech was actually a myth. It was not the talent that was lacking, it was good jobs, good salaries, and good working conditions.’
Betting on where the market was heading
It was this desire to be treated by his bosses with transparency and respect that led Hristo to stand up and demand that they follow up on their promises. When that led to his termination, he returned to an idea he’d been nurturing for a while.
‘I kept my pulse on the market. I could see that things like data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, were all very much on the rise. Someone with the right skills could be very useful to society and earn a good salary there. In the meantime, the sectors where I worked, like the nuclear industry, were quickly being shut down in Germany. I knew it was time to make a move.’
Choosing a state-sponsored Data Science bootcamp
Never one to enjoy sitting with idle hands, Hristo went straight to his local job agency and looked into the state-sponsored courses available to someone who wished to upskill. He researched a number of options, and finally signed up for the WBS CODING SCHOOL Data Science Course.
‘In my initial calls with the school, they warned me that bootcamps are highly intensive, full-time commitments,’ says Hristo, with a bemused smile. ‘But with my background, I found that wasn’t the case at all. I had fun at the bootcamp, but I wouldn’t say I was challenged.’
Casting a wider net: a move back to Bulgaria
With the Data Science certificate now in his hands, Hristo started looking for jobs, and this time, he cast his net wide. He looked for jobs outside of Germany, back in his native country of Bulgaria. A few turned him down. But one company in the financial sector gave him exactly what he was looking for: a job in which he could work independently, making his own decisions, managing his own assets, and not having to rely on ‘promises’ by his contingent manager.
Advice for people who already work in tech
‘There are many stories of people taking coding bootcamps who used to work as waiters, or athletes, or other unrelated things,’ says Hristo. ‘But a bootcamp isn’t only for career changers. Even for people with qualifications in tech, a smart student can make really good use for them.
‘My advice to people with that type of background is to do some careful market research. See which industries are on the rise, and then ask yourself what it is that you want to do for the next five or so years. If there is an alignment between what you want to do and what is emerging, that’s the time to think of a bootcamp.
‘Above all, I would say don’t be lured by the money alone. Industries that are attractive now because they pay well are likely to become saturated quickly, so that by the time you get in, the salaries could drop. Instead, look at the future, at the industries that will be relevant tomorrow. Stay ahead of the game.’
Indeed, Hristo’s decision to take a bootcamp was itself the direct result of a high-risk decision.
‘Confronting my superiors was a gamble, and it led to the longest phase of unemployment in my life since I started working,’ he says, ‘but it was also the right decision. I said no to working conditions that I did not like, I reskilled, and now I’m working in Bulgaria. I am doing what I want, how I want, as I want. I am home, and in more than one sense of the word.’
Hristo Goumnerov graduated from a WBS CODING SCHOOL Data Science Course in July 2023, and he is currently working with Artificial Intelligence models in the financial sector.
Should experienced professionals still consider a coding bootcamp?
Experienced professionals with existing technical or engineering backgrounds can still benefit from a coding bootcamp, particularly to pivot into a specific in-demand field like data science or AI. Rather than teaching entirely new foundations, a bootcamp in this case works more like targeted upskilling: it provides a recognized certificate, structured project experience, and access to career services, in a fraction of the time a full degree would take. The decision comes down to market timing as much as skill level, choosing a field that aligns with where demand is heading, not just where salaries currently look attractive.
Ready to add in-demand skills to your existing experience?
- Explore our Data Science Course, the program that helped Hristo pivot into AI and data work in the financial sector.
- Read more WBS CODING SCHOOL success stories.
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