Recently, a recording surfaced online revealing that Arsen Asatryan, who started his journey at TUMO as a student, managed to get promoted three times and is now a Product Manager.

Check out Arsen’s story, learn about his four roles, and discover the real secrets to success at TUMO.

Let’s dive in.

1. Student / Chief Officer in Charge of Self-Learning

“At school, we were told exactly what to learn. TUMO was the first place where I was asked what I wanted to learn.”

“What do you want to learn?” was the question that launched Arsen’s TUMO journey and shaped his ability to think, learn, and decide independently – a skill that had an enormous impact on his career and success.

If we were to get into his educational achievements, we’d have to write another 7-12 pages to cover everything Arsen learned and did during his five years as a TUMO student.Instead, let’s just say he’s living proof that no TUMO knowledge goes unused—he still applies every skill he picked up during his learning activities.

Secret to Success 1: Think independently.
Secret to Success 2: Learn a lot, apply what you learn even more.

Here’s another secret: at TUMO, the student holds the most important role and the highest position in the organization. While Arsen’s career did progress, his position didn’t really change from when he was a student. But let’s keep that between us.

2. Coach / Chief Officer in Charge of Helping Students Learn

In his teenage years, TUMO gave Arsen a sense of freedom and independence that was missing from his education at school. Later on, his decision to join the TUMO team was fueled by his desire for deeper self-exploration, as well as a quest for deeper meaning and an answer to the question “What am I doing here?”—a question that remained unanswered during his university experience.

In university, Arsen majored in computer science, a decision shaped by his parents, labor market trends, and other circumstances rather than his own goals and interests. While he appreciated the potential opportunities programming offered, Arsen soon realized this wasn’t his true calling and decided to return to TUMO, this time as a coach.

“The decision to become a coach changed everything. I realized that I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to. I can dream and go after my dream, even if that means changing my profession”.
As a coach, Arsen’s main responsibilities included motivating and inspiring students, answering their questions, leading by example, and rocking the red vest. His key achievements included honing his ability to communicate and build friendships with people of all ages and gaining an even deeper understanding of TUMO’s educational philosophy.

Secret to Success 3: Do what you truly want to.
Secret to Success 4: Don’t be afraid to change your profession/life/everything.

3. Scrum Master / Chief Officer in Charge of Explaining What Scrum Means

No, his main job wasn’t explaining what a Scrum Master is – but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was, considering Arsen answered the “What exactly is Scrum?” question a whopping 7,519 times in one year.

And despite all the hours spent explaining his job, Arsen still managed to pull off his main mission: introducing Scrum methodology into TUMO’s workflow.

Here’s a question: If Arsen was such an effective Scrum Master, why did he only stay in the position for a year?

During his interview for the Scrum Master position, Arsen openly expressed his interest in another role to Tatev, his future manager. She assured him that if he achieved his goal, a promotion would follow. As expected, that’s exactly what happened.

Secret to Success 5: Be transparent about your goals at TUMO from the get-go.

4. Product Manager / Chief Officer in Charge of Making Learning Better

At TUMO, the term “product” refers to the content and software used by students for self-learning. Designed and maintained by TUMO, this product serves as a key educational platform across all TUMO centers, including international ones.

As for product managers, Arsen says they’re the people who “link the team who build the product with the students who use it.”

Arsen spends his day analyzing how different changes affect the learning process, brainstorming new features and content to better engage teens, and figuring out ways to make learning at TUMO even more fun and stimulating. The phrase used most often during his workday is “Will this really help the students?”, and his favorite part of the job is chatting with students and coaches to see the real impact of his efforts.

As for his biggest achievement, Arsen points to the TUMO Editor – a tool he and his teammates came up with. Before this, students in programming classes had to rely on a third-party platform that had several issues, including error messages displayed only in English and frequent freezing. By developing this tool in-house, they made coding way easier for TUMO students, letting them do all their exercises in one program and saving a ton of time.

This final paragraph really sums up why Arsen loves TUMO and why TUMO loves him in return. It all boils down to the fact that Arsen’s work genuinely makes a difference in the lives of teenagers in Armenia and beyond.

Secret to Success 6: Don’t do work just for the sake of it.
Secret to Success 7: Do your work in a way that creates an impact.
Secret to Success 8: Do your work with passion.
Secret to Success 9: No matter your role, spend time interacting with students.

In conclusion

We will likely update this text soon to reflect any new promotions or fresh accomplishments Arsen achieves in his current position. And yes, we did use the word “shocking” in the title to grab your attention. However, the secrets to Arsen’s success reflect qualities that align closely with TUMO’s job postings: creative thinking, teamwork, a genuine passion for education and innovation, and above all, a steadfast commitment to TUMO’s mission of empowering Armenia’s youth.

This final paragraph truly captures why Arsen cherishes TUMO and why TUMO values him in return. It all boils down to the fact that Arsen’s work genuinely makes a difference in the lives of teenagers in Armenia and beyond.