| | Caitlin Belomy | Making a career change at 35 was a very scary choice. After years of juggling multiple part-time jobs in education and the restaurant industry, I had worked my way up to a project coordinator role at a well respected university. My job was really good. I had a steady schedule, health benefits, great co-workers, and work I believed in. But for me, something was still missing. I wasn’t being challenged or pushed to my full potential, which ultimately left me feeling unfulfilled.
It felt a little crazy to walk away from a steady career and quit my job to attend a bootcamp. I agonized over the decision for months, comparing different options. I researched the heck out of Tech Elevator, just like you’re doing now! I was skeptical of all the positive reviews, and wary of it being a scam. I’m here to add my voice and story to the others posted here and tell you that it’s true. All of it.
Tech Elevator’s program is extremely well structured. The education focuses on core software development concepts, coupled with practical real-world skills needed on the job such as how to work with a team together on the same code using github. By the time you graduate you literally have all the skills you need to create a web application. The career readiness program preps you for success in your job hunt through mock interviews, resume critiques, and networking and public speaking skills. And finally, TE brings in several companies for an event they call “Matchmaking”, giving you six 20-minute interviews with local companies.
I can’t stress enough how important and valuable Matchmaking is. If you’ve ever experienced the nightmare which is applying for a job, you know how difficult it is to get someone to even LOOK at your resume, let alone call you in for an initial interview. Tech Elevator gives you face-to-face interviews with companies who are eager to hire junior developers. Several of them have hired TE grads in the past and are so happy with the quality of those employees that they can’t wait to hire more. My six interviews led to four onsite interviews, which led to three job offers, all $15-20k more than I was making at my old job.
Lastly, I just have to talk about the instructors and staff at Tech Elevator. They are all so dedicated to your success and they truly believe in you. This program is really hard. You will be pushed to the limits of what you’re capable of achieving. I personally struggled a lot the first couple of weeks, but the instructors were available until late in the day to answer my questions. They reassured me that it was okay to struggle and never made me feel bad for asking them questions - and oh boy, I asked a LOT of questions! They really stuck with me until the concepts finally clicked, and I’m grateful that they put so much time into making sure my foundation was completely solid before moving on to more complex topics.
As you can tell from this novel I’ve written, I am so passionate about Tech Elevator. It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and if you’re considering enrolling, DO IT. This program gives you everything you need to start a career as a software developer, you just have to want it. So if you have that drive, you will come out of this program with a new career. |
