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Марія БровінськаWork
30 September 2025, 08:59
2025-09-30
Is there life in IT after 65? Definitely: here are three stories of IT professionals who prove it
Working in a young team of IT professionals when you are already a pensioner is a reality or a dream? Having the opportunity to demonstrate your professional qualities after 65, when there are only young people around, is more fiction than truth? The absence of gender and age stereotypes in the most dynamic sector of the economy — IT — a chance to prove yourself or be disappointed again?
These questions are probably asked by professionals who want to realize themselves even in their seventies. And, whatever stereotypes exist, IT breaks them down, accepting specialists into the ranks not by age, but by skills and professional qualities. dev.ua has prepared three stories of IT professionals aged 65+ who work in leading IT companies and are extremely happy to move up the career ladder, even when most of their peers choose home comfort and a modest life in retirement.
Working in a young team of IT professionals when you are already a pensioner is a reality or a dream? Having the opportunity to demonstrate your professional qualities after 65, when there are only young people around, is more fiction than truth? The absence of gender and age stereotypes in the most dynamic sector of the economy — IT — a chance to prove yourself or be disappointed again?
These questions are probably asked by professionals who want to realize themselves even in their seventies. And, whatever stereotypes exist, IT breaks them down, accepting specialists into the ranks not by age, but by skills and professional qualities. dev.ua has prepared three stories of IT professionals aged 65+ who work in leading IT companies and are extremely happy to move up the career ladder, even when most of their peers choose home comfort and a modest life in retirement.
I started working at 56, and I’ve been working at ZONE3000 for 11 years. I’m 67.
Larisa Ingul is 67 years old. She is a Customer Support QA Data Operator and has been working at ZONE3000 for 11 years.
Larisa is a mechanical engineer by profession and worked in this specialty for 5 years. Then she received an education as an accountant, lawyer and auditor. Later she moved to the securities market and registration services. After some time, the services market began to digitize, so the company where Larisa worked ceased operations.
Larisa found a job as a data operator at ZONE3000, but she didn’t really expect success. And an experienced specialist, at the age of 56, becomes a switcher and radically changes her direction of work. Before joining ZONE3000, she held the position of department head, and the job as a data operator was something else. However, values and views coincided, Larisa successfully mastered her new profession and has been working with the company for 11 years.
«I have 39 years of experience in IT. I was hired by EPAM at 60.» I am now 65
65-year-old Data Analyst Andriy Kamuz is an experienced IT professional. His experience in IT is 39 years. He is currently an EPAM, and working at EPAM was Andriy’s first experience in classic IT; before that, he worked in the banking sector. Since the spring of 2021, the specialist has been involved in his sixth project. He worked with SQL services and was involved in data migration between databases. One of the projects was creating a data warehouse for a pharmaceutical company, and for another customer, a dairy producer, he worked on data migration.
Andriy Kamuz was born in Kherson, where he lived for almost 60 years, and moved to Odessa after the full-scale invasion. The developer recalls that he started working as a site foreman at the Kherson plant, and in 1986 the first computers appeared at the plant. Then Andriy took courses in Yerevan and moved to the programming department. The first machines were «Electronics 60/79», which could be compared to a large wardrobe. When the first PCs appeared in 1991, he began programming in Fortran and Pascal. After the plant closed, the IT guy moved to the banking sector, where he worked for the next 20 years. There he programmed in Delphi and worked with the first SQL services.
«Started as a Customer Support Specialist and grew to become a Quality Assurance Specialist.» I am 65
Marina Opaleva is 65 years old. Vana is an ESL Customer Support QA at ZONE3000, where she joined back in 2012.
Marina is an English translator by education. In the 80s and 90s, she worked as a translator at the Institute of Marine Biology, and then at a television company. Later, she worked for a well-known tobacco company, where she worked her way up from secretary to procurement specialist. Marina was forced to leave her last job — the management decided to «renew the blood», that is, «rejuvenate the team», and she was persistently offered to leave.
Marina accidentally came across a ZONE3000 advertisement for a Customer Support position with no experience but English skills. She successfully passed the language test and interview and plunged into a completely new industry. She immediately liked the fact that we communicate in the company using the first person, which evens out the age difference. At first, it was a bit difficult to figure out the new role, but there was always a manager or colleagues nearby to help. Within a year, Marina could answer almost any customer question.
According to the specialist, Customer Support opens up many opportunities. So, at the age of 52, Marina started her journey from scratch as a Customer Support Specialist and grew to become a Quality Assurance specialist.
«We are recruiting young staff, 18–27 years old, unfortunately.» A 48-year-old HR manager faced ageism when he responded to a job vacancy. His post received 200+ comments of support and outrage.
«I started on a PC the size of a three-door wardrobe.» A native of Kherson with 40 years of experience — about programming in Delphi, the principle «if it works, touch it less» and the evolution of IT
«Моя фінансова мета — накопичити $1 000 000, щоб мати пасивний дохід і жити на нього». Як айтішники витрачають гроші та в що інвестують
Зарплата айтішників в Україні — одна з найвищих. І ІТ-галузь під час війни — єдина галузь, яка зростає, попри війну. А айтішники — серед тих, хто найактивніше підтримують армію. Середній місячний донат айтішника становить 10% від зарплати, або $270. dev.ua вирішив розпитати айтішників, куди вони витрачають гроші й у що інвестують під час війни.
Не Патроном єдиним. Айтішник з EPAM шиє військову амуніцію для собак: історія диво-стартапу для чотирилапих захисників України
Максим Лісович, Interior Designer в ЕРАМ Україна, поза роботою допомагає амуніцією українським військовим… собакам. Так, службові пси носять унікальні жилетки та нашийники, мають спеціальні аптечки та турнікети. Чотирилапі в такому «одязі» більш захищені та впізнавані.
За словами Максима, тільки на заході країни нас захищають сотні військових собак. Айтівець допомагає військовим кінологам нести цю службу гідно, забезпечуючи відповідною амуніцією, спеціальними аптечками та турнікетами. Нещодавно він провів три дні поспіль, власноруч відшиваючи нашийники та повідці. А ще два роки тому шити він не вмів узагалі. Ось історія диво-стартапу.
Австралійське задзеркалля. Історія Delivery Director EPAM, який через війну релокувався із сім'єю до Австралії: як адаптуватися та вижити за океаном?
Григорій Клімов — директор з делівері і керівник великої Platform Engineering-практики в EPAM. Понад 10 років він будував свою кар’єру в українському офісі, але війна змусила його з родиною кардинально змінити життя. В березні Григорій з дружиною і трьома дітьми поїхали з рідного Харкова, деякий час провели в ЄС, а згодом — вирушили до Австралії. «Я мріяв жити в цій країні, коли піду на пенсію. Але війна підштовхнула до того, щоб прийняти рішення значно швидше», — каже Григорій.
Ось його історія.
Очільник EPAM Ukraine: «Було б класно мати якісь прозорі, відкриті механізми виїзду за кордон для обмеженої кількості людей»
Керівник EPAM Ukraine Степан Мітіш, який до призначення відповідав за київський та вінницький офіси компанії, дав велике інтерв’ю AIN. В компанії він працює вже 16 років, тобто знає про український IT-аутсорс багато, якщо не все.
dev.ua обрав найцікавіше з розмови.
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