Tehran is about 7,000 miles from Denver — and for Soheil Mirzaei, it probably felt even further. After growing up in the Iranian capital, Soheil arrived in America with just $500 in his pocket. “That’s not exactly a sustainable livelihood for even a month,” he laughed. Soheil’s American Dream began with long hours spent working in…
Determination, Diversity & Representation: 5 Ways Sonia Castellano Prioritized Her Passions in the Boot Camp and Beyond
Sonia Castellano’s journey into technology began on Facebook. An active networker, she was struck when she came across a connection’s testimonial about a coding boot camp they had attended. She raved about the experience, reflecting on how she went from a dead-end job to a career that doubled her income and changed her life. Then, Sonia…
How to Choose the Right Recruiter: Tips From an Expert
When changing careers, who you know is often just as important as what you know, so it’s a good idea to start building your professional network as early as possible. Industry and networking events are great ways to build connections with others in the tech field by not only granting you direct access to helpful…
For This Stay-at-Home Mom, Online Education Was More Than a Perk. It Was a Necessity.
As the daughter of a robotics engineer and the wife of a software developer, Katie White has always been surrounded by technology. In college, she considered a career in computer science — but the idea seemed impossible. “I didn’t think I could do it,” she said. “There was a lack of female representation in technology, and programming…
How an Online Boot Camp Gave This World Traveler Skills She Can Use to Work From Anywhere
Ashley Hart didn’t always know that she wanted to code, but she always knew that she wanted to travel. As a free spirit who loves living in new places, Ashley wanted a job that she could do from anywhere in the world. Ashley’s career involved work in many fields, from nonprofit organizations to customer service centers.…
10 Effective Job Search Strategies
After selling the tech start-up he co-founded, Charles Gedeon wondered what to tackle next. While handling operations at his company, he’d always been fascinated by the work done by the coders on his team, so that seemed like a good place to start. “That whole process pulled me in,” Charles said. “So I started dabbling…
How a Boot Camp Project Led to a New Job in Coding for Meghan Morris
With both a journalism degree and a master’s in business administration, Meghan Morris’s career centered around strategic communications for 10 years. While working as a communications and change management senior analyst at Willis Towers Watson, Meghan created solutions for client HR teams, such as microsites and mobile apps, to help them communicate with their employees about their…
Robert Anderson Felt A Growing Gap in His Coding Knowledge. Going to Boot Camp Helped Close It
A desire for self-improvement drew Robert Anderson to boot camp. At the time, he was working as a quality analyst for a Colorado-based payment company. His job consisted mostly of the manual testing of software programs, but as the company grew, Robert noticed that a lot of the software testing responsibilities were transitioning to automation. Eager to…
How to Become a Strong Female Role Model: The Story of Ashley Hurlburt’s Coding Career Change
As a musician and massage therapist, Ashley Hurlburt always thought she was a clear-cut right-brain thinker. When she started doing data entry for a massage therapist association, though, she realized it wasn’t so black and white. “I realized I really liked thinking in a bigger way, logically and linearly,” she said. “I enjoyed the sense of…
From Bike Shop Manager to Developer: Denver Resident Fred Lintz’s Big Shift
From age 15, Fred Lintz worked in bike shops—as a technician, sales rep, and then manager. He loved it, but knew it wasn’t what he wanted to do for life. “I was working every weekend and it was exhausting. I needed something new,” Fred said. That’s what he found at the University of Denver’s Coding Boot…