Alumni Spotlight: From Ranch Hand to Dallas Software Developer
Editor’s Note: This article includes excerpts from a blog post originally published to Course Report. Visit the full article here.
Rick Anglin hit a ceiling with his IT experience and knew he needed more education to level up. While working as a ranch hand, Rick scoured the internet looking for coding bootcamps. He chose Tech Elevator for their 90% hiring rate 3-6 months after graduating, plus their Pathway Program career support (even six months postgrad). Rick received multiple job offers before graduating and immediately started earning double his salary. Now, he’s sharing his advice to excel at Tech Elevator and what makes Tech Elevator’s Dallas campus a great tech hub.
There are so many coding bootcamps now -— What stood out about Tech Elevator?
Tech Elevator has a verified 90% hiring rate in 3-6 months, which was unmatchable by their competitors. The timing of the next cohort also aligned with my schedule.
How did Tech Elevator prepare you for the job hunt?
Tech Elevator’s Pathway Program offered us career services while we completed the coding bootcamp. We worked with career specialists on our resume and preparing for the interview process. They connected us with companies that were hiring and also with other people in the roles we were seeking so we could gain insights on that job.
So, in just three months, Tech Elevator packs in the tech content, plus this expert knowledge on how to get into the tech business. You get connections within the industry, and so many other resources, which undoubtedly attributes to their job placement outcomes. Graduates leave the bootcamp supported and prepared to go get that job. If you have no idea how to land a job in tech, you will be an expert by the end of this program!
How long did it take for you to land your first tech job after bootcamp?
I was offered a position before I graduated from the bootcamp! I connected with a Tech Elevator hiring partner that got me an interview for a good position with a tech consulting firm called Cognizant. After I finished the bootcamp, I soon started the three-month cohort for Cognizant’s training program.
At this point in your career journey, was Tech Elevator worth it for you?
Absolutely. I’m already making double my salary from what I’ve made before, plus I’m on a trajectory of making quadruple that within a couple of years. It’s a great feeling. Within the first two years, I will have anything that I borrowed for the bootcamp paid off — I may even be able to pay it all off in a year. Paying for my bootcamp loans now won’t put me back at all.
The bootcamp is hard work, but those three months have absolutely changed my life for the better. I went from surviving and barely managing, to immediately financially thriving right after graduating! I’m on my way to make more money than I’ll know what to do with.
What advice would you give a friend starting at Tech Elevator’s Dallas campus? Anything you wish you knew?
- Do the pre-work! Concentrate on the pre-work, learn the pre-work, and give yourself every advantage you can by putting your all into the pre-work.
- It’s worth it. The bootcamp is gonna feel crazy at times with how much information you’re receiving and effort you’re putting into it. There were times our cohort felt lost, overwhelmed, and wanted to quit. Stick with the program, trust the instructors, rely on your peers, do the work, stay with the homework because when you get through it, it is absolutely worth it.
- Step away if you need to. You can come back to it.
Read the full article on Course Report.