Kakao Resumes Cloud Career Transition Program 'Career Boost' in 2022

Kakao will continue its Career Boost Program for Cloud in 2022 for developers seeking to transition into cloud roles. Despite approximately 70% of 2021 participants having no prior cloud experience, they successfully settled into cloud platform teams through the program.

Hands-on Training and Career Transition

Program participants transitioned to cloud developer roles from diverse backgrounds including manufacturing, server, client, firmware, and machine learning. John gained confidence in pursuing cloud roles through toy projects utilizing GCP free credits, based on his experience using internal cloud products. Loktar applied after being attracted to distributed file system development work, leveraging experience in redundancy and sharding development.

The curriculum is prepared and taught directly by current colleagues. Participants learn by reviewing source code of services currently in operation and complete assignments using Kakao cloud services in teams. This structure allowed experienced hires to quickly build relationships and adapt to practical work.

Initial Adaptation Period and Advice

During the initial period after joining, there were difficulties due to differences in collaboration methods. John needed time to break habits of working alone, share work, and accept feedback, while Loktar struggled with breaking down work units while transitioning from a waterfall model to an agile approach. However, they gradually adapted with help and feedback from colleagues.

Career changers advise that if foundational skills are solid, domain differences are not a major issue. Considering the potential for growth in the cloud market and learning opportunities in actual production environments, they emphasize the importance of challenging oneself rather than hesitating to apply.