Dima had a comfortable career in the medical field. And while this is a sizable industry with many opportunities, Dima was looking for a better career path. One with higher pay, more flexibility, and future growth opportunities.

“I always knew that IT makes good money. And I was looking for a higher-paying job to easily switch to”, Dima shares. And he was set to find the best training for his career change.

Starting training

Dima’s friend recommended Careerist as the training and mentorship platform to help his transition to a tech career.

He chose the Manual QA track because it was suitable for people without a tech background, and it provides up-training and promotion opportunities with QA Automation.

“I didn’t have a specific (tech) background, I thought it would take a lot of time to learn and practice. But the program was easy.”

Dima went on to complete the core training and start applying for jobs.

Finding a job

Together with his mentors and the Job Application Service (JAS) team, Dima was working on optimizing his chances of getting interviews scheduled and how to pass them.

“We worked on my resume and the application process. He helped me a lot and I received so much useful information,” Dima reflects on his mentorship experience with Careerist and what really helped his.

“Your JAS does a good job motivating people. You always say that QA is very easy, and it’s easy to find a good job don’t give up. Even when it’s not, people’s faith can make miracles.”

Dima kept persevering, even during the pandemic. “Interviewers mostly ask all the same questions from our cheat sheets,” and Dima was prepared. After 4 months of applications and interviews, Dima accepted a job offer from an education company in Los Angeles, where he will be leading QA.

– “ Interviewers mostly ask all the same questions from our cheat sheets “

And better yet, Dima’s new job is remote, meaning that he can spend more time with his loved ones and have more free time. All that hard work paid off!

And a tip for newcomers to tech?

“I would recommend you to try it! Even if you think it’s hard.”

A recent update from our graduate Evan, class of summer 2020.

Before Careerist, Evan had a non-tech sales job in Los Angeles. He liked his job, but it was increasingly demanding and that didn’t match with the pay.

Evan knew this wasn’t the endgame for his career: “there’s a digital age of war going on and every business is on the front lines.”

Seeking to stay relevant, Evan looked for a change. He looked for careers that are on a growth trajectory, and he realized that emerging technologies drive industry growth. And tech is booming. But Evan had some concerns –

“I was always unsure of going into tech because I only have an Associates degree in the business management field. I imagined most roles would require a high level computer science background. I had been doing sales for so long that I felt it was “too late” to dive deep into the tech world.”

Destination: change

Evan knew that if he were to get a job in Tech, he needed committed, 1:1 support that would help overcome obstacles on the way. That was his primary reason for enrolling at Careerist.

And without prior knowledge in the field, Evan found the training accessible: “The program was very easy to understand and they started at the most basic foundations. If there was ever a new term I would look it up and ask the class about it.”

“It felt like a small hands-on community and I never felt like I was asking too many questions or bugging anyone. My mentor Anastasia Abramenko helped me A LOT with motivation!“

Evan went on to successfully complete the core training and started the next stage, job hunting.

Persistence pays off

Evan worked with the Job Application Service (JAS) team at Careerist to increase his chances to get employers to notice his application:

“It kept me motivated. I just knew something was going to work out. Every day I felt like I was getting better in the job market. I developed skills that I probably would have never worked on before.”

“I had about 3-5 interviews a week,” Evan recalls, learning and improving with each interview, going for six weeks. And Evan’s mentor was there to keep the fire going:

“Anastasiia was amazing. She motivated me and is easy to talk to. She followed up with me when I had an interview before and after to set up mock interview questions and to see how it went after.”

“I knew what I had to say but would get nervous sometimes. The prep questions AND the elevator pitch training was so helpful. I definitely gained confidence.”

It’s this personal mentorship that is the key to landing a job. And it did pay off: “my current employer gave me an offer after my second interview.” Evan accepted an almost 80k/year offer. Congrats 🙋‍♀️

New Beginnings

It’s first Evan’s tech job, but it wasn’t the first time he worked in the field – Evan completed the Careerist internship, gaining hands-on experience useful for his new job. “It got me into the mindset of how a tech business operates. The day to day tasks and skills involved.”

He got acclimated quickly at his new job – “the first day was great! I got to set up my system, review training videos, and then hands-on training during the week.”

“Now I’m 3 weeks in and everyday is getting more and more interesting! We are about 1 month away from going to market. So I’m just doing “test runs” on everything possible… It’s exciting to be a part of something so big!”

“You’d be surprised how many tech companies are looking for employees from different industries/backgrounds,” Evan shares. “Also believe in yourself and use all the tools you have in your tool belt to get the job done!””

And final pro-tip for newcomers to tech?

– “Apply as much as you can. Never stop.”

Evan Sanchez

A new update from our graduate Nurman, class of summer 2020.

Nurman was interested in advancing his career and finding a job in tech because of the option to work remotely, the competitive pay, better work environments, and the security of a future-proof job.

Coming from the transportation industry, Nurman was initially a bit unsure about learning something completely new, but after some self-study, he enrolled in Careerist.

Nurman explains he was impressed by our positive reviews, friendly personnel, and the 1:1 mentorship built into our training programs. But the main selling point was fair pricing and the Income Share Agreement, which offers flexible tuition and the ability to pay for training *after* you are hired.

– “(Careerist) seemed like a nice shortcut to success without (a lot of) investment into higher level education.”

Nurmna’s mentor helped him with interview preparations, resume tuning, and LinkedIn profile modifications. This cooperation and sharing of skills allowed Numan to be confident going into his job interviews after graduating from Careerist.

– “Ask questions, be eager to learn.”

After just 2 months, Nurman was hired into a remote position working for a giant tech company making $80k/year. He credits his success to the Careerist internship which helped provide him with real job simulation. “The assignments are very real. And the communication tools (like Slack), work tools (Jira, TestRail, IDE's) all gave (me) a nice familiarization with real-world remote work.”

Now that he’s hired, Nurman explains how much he likes working with his new team. He’s even taken up coaching newcomers because he understands their confusion. He helps them acclimate to life on the job so it can be as stress-free and efficient as possible.

Looking to the future, Nurman says he would love to be a Full Stack software engineer in 5 years. And in 10 years? A Chief Technical Officer.

We couldn’t be more proud of Nurman’s success and his renewed confidence in himself and his abilities. There is no limit to what you can achieve.

Sean lives in New York City, the economic center of the world and a city rich in opportunities. Sean worked in a variety of common jobs – but none had the intellectual challenge and growth opportunity as tech did. “ Tech is a good exercise for your brain, smart people (mostly), and a good pay!” Sean said.

Sean considered a transition to QA: “getting a job in tech is a good idea. You should consider what it takes to get there, depending on what tech area you are trying to enter. QA is the easiest start (arguably).”

Looking for the leading programs for QA, Sean found Careerist. “I was skeptical,” Sean reflects, “it was a wild shot.” But time would show that this shot was well worth it.

Training begins

Sean’s QA classes were going well, with enough support to pass the learning curve. The training is followed by Internship, LinkedIn + Resume optimization, as well as job interview training.

One of the main unique features of Careerist is Internship where students gain real-world experience in the field, “It is practical knowledge, absolutely necessary especially if you never touched this area previously.”

Moving onwards to applying for jobs, “I had to pass a mock job interview with my mentor first, then resume preparation followed by a detailed plan on how to handle the job search. My mentor was always available for a discussion and some useful job search hints.”

Sean found huge help from Careerist’s expert Job Application Service team, “they gave me exact instructions about how to apply for jobs in the right way. The key here is to listen CAREFULLY and do EXACTLY as you are told by the Careerist team.”

And when things got tough, “Graduate meetings are a must!! It’s mental medicine. When you lose hope and feel frustrated about the job search, just listen.” Meeting with successful graduates is a big motivator, “there are a lot of helpful hints from the meeting host and real experience feedback from working graduates.”

A New Career

Sean now works in the technology department of a known retail brand. While typically a job search takes many tries, Sean got his offer quickly:

“I succeeded with the first company I was interviewed for. I had 3 interviews with them.”

Sean attributes his success to the thorough practice leading up to the interview: “There was nothing that we didn't touch on during the interview preparation. There is always some level of improvisation when you are interviewed, but it is not that hard to figure out.”

And not only does this gig pay close to $100k/year, but it’s also remote. So now Sean can travel year-round without permission or a pay cut.

And even with this perfect gig, Sean is looking out for what’s next. He’s thinking of “moving up to management and/or get into QA Automation” in the next few years.

Continue inspiring us to live the dream, Sean.

Any parting words?

– “Work is going pretty good. So far, I like what I do.”