From Stocking Shelves to a Six-Figure Career Path | How Tulsa Alumni Jeremy Felts Landed His Dream Job

Posted onFebruary 3, 2021

Pre-Dojo:

Worked as a grocery store cashier

Desired to be in the tech field but had no coding or college experience

After Dojo:

Worked as an IT Field Technician and now works in his dream job as an IT Analyst

Has goals to get his skills certified and continually expanding his coding skill set

Program: Three Full-Stack Bootcamp in Tulsa, OK

Career Satisfaction Prior: 3/10

Career Satisfaction After: 9/10

Testimonial:

I remember learning recursion and whiteboarding the Fibonacci Sequence and I felt like one of those mathematicians in those movies where they finally understand everything and are writing really fast.

Tell us a little about yourself. Age, hobbies, passions, and what you were doing (professionally) before the bootcamp.

I’m 22 years old and gaming is my main hobby, one that I am pretty passionate about. The Coding Dojo bootcamp was my first professional thing in my field. I worked at a grocery store before and during the program itself.

Beyond the desire of learning to code, why did you decide to enroll in a coding bootcamp?

I have always been interested in computers. My grandma helped me mess with computers when I was 3, allowing me to play the old ‘I Spy’ games and helping me shake the mouse. I have always known I wanted to be somewhere in the technology field. Programming seemed real cool and with the amount of money people in the field made, it looked like a great direction to go.

What was your bootcamp experience like? What parts came easy, and what parts did you struggle with?

My boot camp experience was very informative and exhausting in a good way. I feel like the amount of information being pushed into my brain in such a short time period was amazing, but exhausting. I took a few months of break after boot camp because of how mentally spent I was but it was amazing because I wasn’t wasting time when I was a part of it. I felt like I was retaining a large amount of information in a short amount of time and it was great.

How did you overcome the obstacles or struggles you faced?

A lot of Google, assistance from my instructor, and making friends. Honestly the friends I made in my cohort really were a big part of why I, and they, passed. We all worked together and there were interesting perspectives from each person.

Do you have any fun anecdotes to share about your time in the bootcamp? Make good friends? Fond memories?

I remember learning recursion and whiteboarding the Fibonacci Sequence and I felt like one of those mathematicians in those movies where they finally understand everything and are writing really fast.

How did the job hunt go? Where did you land a job?

Job hunt was disappointing at first but ended up being fruitful in the end. I didn’t have any past college so that definitely delayed my job hunt, but within 6 months I had a tech job and now 2 years and a month later, I am at my dream job.

Walk us through your career journey. If applicable, where did you go after that first job?

I worked with lots and lots of recruiters. Job recruiters are your best friend and the employer foots the bill when you get the job, so use as many as you can. My first job was at Loves Travel Stops, where I worked as a IT Field Technician for around a year and a half. Then in November 2020, I started in my current role with another company as an IT Analyst.

What advice do you have for others who are interested in coding bootcamps or who are just starting one?

Don’t give up. I had cohort mates who were on the very edge ready and give up. They didn’t and very shortly after, they finally figured things out. Out of the 11 people in my cohort, we only lost 1 and only 2 of my cohort mates had previous coding experience. That’s 8 people who came from zero previous knowledge to becoming a proficient coder in just a few months.

What are your goals or dreams for the future, say 5 or 10 years from now?

I love my current job so I plan on staying here for a while but I do have goals of getting some certifications on my belt and learning more and more about coding.

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If you are interested in getting out of a rut by learning how to code and changing your career trajectory, Coding Dojo bootcamp offers accelerated learning programs that can transform your life. We offer both part-time and full-time online courses, as well as onsite (post COVID-19) programs. We also offer financing options, scholarships, and other tuition assistance programs to help you with financial barriers.

If you want to invest in yourself and your future, there is no better time than the present! If you’re interested, use this link to schedule a 15-minute exploratory session with one of our Admissions representatives today.

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