I eventually landed an offer with DigitialOcean - which is beyond my imagination!

My college degree in Actuarial Science did not prepare me well enough to land a job in the field. I was stuck working in a role that required only a high school degree. That went on for a full year. I was able to pay my bills and have some savings, but I realized that I wasn't happy at my job - it lacked meaning. That's when I started looking elsewhere - into tech and into programming. I eventually found Launch School.

Launch School is one of the best decisions that I made. The learning journey may be long, uncertain and at times, rough, but finishing the Core Curriculum and Capstone have been absolutely worth it. I want to point out a few tangible benefits having gone through this process with Launch School.

Having mastered the fundamentals, it has improved my ability to learn new technologies quickly. I was able to pick up React/Redux in a short period of time and tackle take-home assignments with confidence. Even if there are unfamiliar requirements (such as handling 3rd party API calls), I was able to look up appropriate resources and learn how to build certain features quickly and implement best practices. This helped me passed interviews and often landed me into on-sites.

Capstone is another level. Coming out of it, I gained a strong understanding of high-level systems architecture, data structures, algorithms and some CS fundamentals. On top of it, I built an impressive project, which employers find impressive. All that makes me an invaluable candidate to good companies. Capstone also provides zero-interest loans, which helped me to pursue my highest goals in finding my next job - despite receiving numerous rejections and not-so-great offers.

I eventually landed an offer with DigitialOcean - which is beyond my imagination! I am so grateful to have the opportunity pursue my career with a company that supports long-term growth, a caring community and great work-life balance. Not to mention a great salary, excellent health benefits, free lunches everyday, and a long list of other perks. I would not have landed this opportunity without Launch School and Capstone.

Besides landing a career-launching job, I also get to make life-long friends. Sunny and Julius are the alumni that not only inspired me to finish Capstone, but also gave their support throughout the long job hunt process. I am also happy to say that we all work in the same company now!

Finally, I would like to thank the people behind Launch School - Chris, Kevin and the amazing TAs for providing us a path to achieve greatness. Not just in terms of salary numbers, but also in building confidence and the skills necessary to land great jobs.