Switching to a career in tech was the right calculation

From Preschool Teacher to Web Developer and Analyst, Zedasoft

"Sign up and try it out. Take a chance on yourself."

This is Rachel Brown, a Nucamp Bootcamp graduate and now a Web Developer and Analyst at Zedasoft.

As a preschool teacher with a degree in mathematics, Rachel wasn't exercising the extent of her skills in her estimation.

Working with children had its own rewards, but the 50% discount for her own child to attend the preschool was the primary variable that kept her in the role.

Over time the value of the discount was producing diminishing returns and it was time for Rachel to make a change.

Knowing Rachel's background in math, a friend of her's recommended she look into coding.

Rachel had taken one computer science course in college, but knew she needed more education if she was going to plot this course.

She spent some time learning to code on her own, LOVED it, and reckoned that a bootcamp would be best method for learning.

While trying to resolve the high cost in her mind, she only found bootcamps in Dallas and Austin, but nothing near her home in Fort Worth, TX.

After a web search for Bootcamps in Forth Worth, she was thrilled to discover Nucamp was available nearby, that it had a flexible schedule, and it was affordable.

What it was like taking a Nucamp Bootcamp

Rachel was afraid she would convince herself not to do the bootcamp if she gave herself too much time to think about it, so she took the plunge and immediately registered for the Full Stack Bootcamp.

As the bootcamp progressed, she started to realize that it really was a bootcamp that required a consistent and dedicated scchedule, but the summation of her experience was very positive.

Getting exposure to all the different technologies was especially valuable for Rachel.

Describe your job search process.

Initially, Rachel applied to a lot of different jobs, but something wasn't adding up when she kept getting passed up.

The first thing that made a difference was keeping her resume up to date, highlighting her degree in mathematics, and keeping the contents relevant to the role she wanted.

Ultimately, however, it was a connection through her current boss that led to an interview and then an offer as a Web Developer.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

"Do the projects! Having multiple versions of the final student project is what ultimately impressed my employer."