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Career · Building digital products

Programmer

Writes instructions for computers so that websites, apps and games work the way they were meant to.

What a day looks like

A programmer's morning usually starts with a check: what broke overnight and what needs doing today. Then they get down to a task, for example adding a button to an app that saves favourite places. First you need to understand how it should work, then write the code and test it. Often something doesn't work the first time, and you have to hunt for where the bug is hiding. During the day the team meets for a short call: who did what and where help is needed. By evening the new feature works and can be shown to others. Tomorrow there will be new tasks, and that's normal: in this job there is always something to learn.

Try it yourself this week

  • 30 minutes

    Figure out how your favourite website works

    1. Open a website or app you use often.
    2. Draw a map of it on a sheet of paper: the home page, with arrows to the other sections.
    3. Write down five things you can tap or click on it and what happens after you do.
    4. Think it over and write down: what would you remove and what would you add if you were making this site yourself?

    What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you like breaking complex things into parts and seeing how they connect.

  • 30 minutes

    Find 5 problems in your favourite app and describe them like a tester

    1. Choose an app or game you play or use.
    2. Explore it for 15 minutes and look for annoying things: confusing buttons, extra steps, strange wording.
    3. Write down five findings like this: what I did, what I expected, what actually happened.
    4. Mark which problem is the most annoying for users and explain why.

    What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you notice small details and enjoy finding things other people missed.

  • 40 minutes

    Sketch three screens of an app for a school problem

    1. Come up with a small app, for example for a timetable or for sharing class notes.
    2. Draw three screens as phone frames: the main screen, one more section and the final screen.
    3. Use arrows to show how a person moves from one screen to another.
    4. Ask a friend to go through your drawings with their finger and watch where they get confused. Write down those places.

    What you'll learn about yourself: What suits you more: coming up with how an app looks, or thinking through how people will use it.

What you can do next

  1. Next 3 months

    • Figure out how websites are built

      Do the task about your favourite website: draw a map of it and write down what you can click and what happens next.

    • Try a free intro lesson in programming

      Find a beginner course on a free site that doesn't require sign-up, and do one or two lessons.

    • Talk to someone who does this job

      Through people you know and together with your parents, find a programmer and ask what they like about the work and what is hard.

  2. In six months

    • Make a small project for yourself

      Think of something simple: a calculator, a quiz or a page about your hobby. The main thing is to finish it.

    • Put three pieces of work in a folder

      Save the results with short descriptions: what you wanted to make and what came out. This is your first portfolio.

    • Boost your English with programming words

      Keep a list of words that come up in lessons and go over them every week.

  3. In a year

    • Pick a field and go deeper

      Try websites, games and apps, then pick the one you like most and make a harder project there.

    • Prepare a list of questions about admission

      With your parents and the school careers adviser, find out where this is taught, which subjects you need and how admission works.

What it pays

Pay varies by region, experience and employer. The figures below are approximate ranges from public sources.

Notes on sources are in Russian, as in the original source.

In Kazakhstan

  • All levelsstatistics

    441,597 ₸ per month

    data: January 2026 · checked: September 2026

    Медиана в вакансиях за месяц.

    Source: almaty.hh.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • All levelsstatistics

    359,198 ₸ per month

    data: 2025 · checked: September 2026

    Медиана в предложениях работодателей. Сами соискатели ждут около 224 000 ₸.

    Source: almaty.hh.kz (opens in a new tab)

For comparison: Uzbekistan

  • All levelsTashkentstatistics

    179.1–534.9 million som per year

    typical — about 355.7 million som

    before tax · data: December 2025 · checked: September 2026

    Общий доход за год с бонусами. Данные в основном от сотрудников международных компаний — у большинства вакансий зарплата ниже.

    Source: levels.fyi (opens in a new tab)
  • All levelsfrom job ads

    10.1 million som per month

    before tax · data: Jan–Jul 2026 · checked: September 2026

    Медиана по вакансиям, до налогов. Самое частое предложение — около 8 млн сум.

    Source: flexa.jobs (opens in a new tab)

For comparison: Russia

  • Beginnerstatistics

    88,000 ₽ per month

    checked: September 2026

    Данные по всем ИТ-специальностям, не только по программистам. Когда шёл опрос, на сайте не указано.

    Source: career.habr.com (opens in a new tab)
  • Experiencedstatistics

    293,000–367,000 ₽ per month

    checked: September 2026

    Данные по всем ИТ-специальностям, не только по программистам. Когда шёл опрос, на сайте не указано.

    Source: career.habr.com (opens in a new tab)

Where to study

Notes on sources are in Russian, as in the original source.

Colleges

You can apply after grade 9 or 11 — you get a profession faster than at university.

Universities

You apply after grade 11, based on your UNT results.

The UNT, if you apply to university

Required subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy, Mathematical Literacy. Profile subjects for this career: Mathematics + Informatics.

Programme group: B057 Информационные технологии. Checked: September 2026.

Source: National Testing Centre list (opens in a new tab)
How to get into college

College gets you a profession faster than university. You can apply after grade 9 or after grade 11.

  • Colleges accept students both after grade 9 and after grade 11. After grade 9 you study longer — about 3 years 10 months; after grade 11, about 2 years 10 months. The exact length depends on the college and the specialty.
    Source: kchk.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • About 80% of students admitted to colleges in the 2024/25 school year study on a state order, which means in state-funded places (in 2023/24 it was about 70%). But each college and each specialty has its own number of state-funded places.
    Source: inbusiness.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • There are also paid colleges. For example, training as a nurse at ADILMED costs 450,000 ₸ per year. Check the price and conditions on the college's website.
    Source: adilmed.kz (opens in a new tab)
UNT: which subjects to take for university

The UNT (Unified National Testing) is Kazakhstan's national university entrance test. You need it to get into university after grade 11.

  • The UNT 2026 has three compulsory subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy and Mathematical Literacy. On top of these, you take two profile subjects, chosen to match your specialty.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • In total, the test has 120 questions (maximum 140 points) and you get 4 hours. The format is the same as in 2025.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • Profile subjects depend on the group of specialties. For example: information technology — Mathematics and Computer Science; nursing and veterinary medicine — Biology and Chemistry; electrical engineering — Mathematics and Physics; law — World History and Fundamentals of Law. The full list is published by the National Testing Center.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • For creative specialties (for example, media and design), you take History of Kazakhstan and Reading Literacy through the UNT, and two creative exams at the university itself.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • Some universities have their own admission rules. Nazarbayev University, for example, requires a UNT score of at least 85, a GPA of 4.0 and English at IELTS 6.0 level.
    Source: nu.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)

Courses and opportunities

Courses

This selection has no free courses with verified sources. Paid ones are listed for reference — check the price and terms on their website.

Opportunities near this field

Can you work before you turn 18?

Under Kazakhstan's Labour Code, teenagers can work, but with limits.

History of the career

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Well-known people in this field

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