Tech Beginners, Could Kenzie Academy Be the Key to Your Career Success?

Tech bootcamps and educational institutions offering accelerated and immersive training have sprung up all over the world, churning out job-ready tech experts in record time. But with the clamor for a quick way to gain tech certificates, the quality of education that some bootcamps offer suffers.

Suddenly, choosing a bootcamp is a vital first step to building your career. If you’re on the hunt for a tech school that will future-proof your career, Kenzie Academy is a strong contender.
Kenzie Academy is a tech school that offers programs in Software Engineering, UX Design, and Full-Stack Web Development. These programs range from nine to 12 months, allowing enough time for learners to assimilate concepts and new technologies. As Kenzie Academy’s career advisor shares, “We truly believe that learners come first and thus provide abundant resources to support their learning.”

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For years, Kenzie Academy has been bridging the gap between learners from all walks of life and an array of tech careers. To date, Kenzie Academy has propelled hundreds of its learners toward successful tech careers. In this article, we shed light on how Kenzie Academy has helped Iyana Admasu and Rudi Jones successfully break into tech.

Iyana Admasu

Iyana Admasu was on her way to becoming a veterinarian when she had a change of heart after completing a coding course for bioinformatics. It was then that she fell in love with tech.

Iyana says, “I came across a coding course for bioinformatics, a certification course within my graduate school program where I learned about Python. Through the coding course, I saw the possibilities with tech and realized that I was more interested in mastering that than animal science.”

To explore her newfound interest, Iyana relied on free coding resources to learn the basics and establish her decision in making a career switch. When she felt ready to enroll in a bootcamp, she turned to Career Karma to evaluate her options.

She shares, “I wanted to find an intersection between my passion for creativity and the tech industry. My research through Career Karma helped me learn about UX design and shifted my interest in this field. Career Karma also narrowed down my options when I read its articles about Kenzie Academy.”

At the time, Kenzie Academy was offering a hybrid program called User Experience Engineering Program. Iyana was attracted to the program because it would enable her to access two disciplines at once.

She explains, “Everyone was saying, ‘You either do UX design or coding.’ But I believed I could do both, and I wanted to find a place that would provide me with that. When I found Kenzie, it was probably one of the very few bootcamps that offered bundle programs. The communities I joined in Career Karma allowed me to talk with students who went to Kenzie.”

Iyana visited Kenzie Academy’s Indianapolis campus before fully committing to the school. For her, while the curriculum quality was vital, the culture and learning environment mattered just as much. This is especially true for tech beginners who will need all the support available to thrive in an intensive learning environment. Kenzie ticked all the boxes on her list.

Iyana explains, “The great connection I had with the instructors at Kenzie and everyone else in the program was crucial to my success. I was able to reach out to them about anything, like my final job interview. [During that time,] I was a little behind on my assignments because I was so stressed preparing for my interview. [My instructor] was very receptive and asked me how he could help. He also gave me the best advice before my interview, which I feel was key to getting hired.”

Since Iyana only relocated to Indianapolis to attend Kenzie, she was on a strict timeline to finish the program and get a job within a year before leaving. She had to juggle her classes while looking for a job. She shares, “I didn’t have the luxury to finish the career service program because I eventually got a job before completing my certificate in UIE, but Kenzie Academy was still supportive. For Kenzie’s team to be there to provide help on all facets was really important.”

Iyana is now working as a software engineer specializing in UI design at a premier multinational investment bank and financial services company. She credits Kenzie for equipping her with sought-after skills that opened up lucrative opportunities. Iyana also stresses that coming from a nontraditional background gave her the edge she needed for this tech role.

“I miss working with animals, but not enough to pursue it as a career because I realized the lifestyle that I want to live and what I want to do long-term didn’t align with being a veterinarian. It took me a long time to figure that out, but I don’t regret my experience because having a nontraditional background really makes us special and unique in the tech industry,” she says.

“I’m happy doing what I do now.”

Rudi Jones

Having worked at Amazon’s transportation and logistics department for a while, Rudi Jones realized that it was not what she envisioned doing in the long run. After learning about Kenzie Academy and Amazon’s partnership in providing affordable tech training, Rudi enrolled in Kenzie’s nine-month Full-Stack Web Development.

She shares, “I wanted to learn something new, and I didn’t want to take out any student loans for it. So, when Kenzie and Amazon partnered for the full-stack web development career choice program, it opened a door for me to further my education without incurring debt.”

The program teaches Kenzie learners about the A to Zs of front end and backend development. It also introduces and equips them with a solid competency in the MERN stack, including MongoDB, React, Express, and Node technologies. While adjusting to the online learning format was a challenge, Kenzie’s ever-supportive community and Rudi’s motivation to have a better career kept her going.

“I have never done online learning before. But when you have the opportunity to afford an education that will teach you new skills, I think you should really take advantage of it to its fullest,” says Rudi, “I was working nights and would get off work at 7am, then head to class at 9am feeling tired. But I made sure I caught up on what I had missed and rehashed the lessons so that I could complete the tasks they gave us.”

Rudi describes her experience as eye-opening, and it was her passion for helping others that guided her in choosing a career path. She says, “During my time at Kenzie, I loved training and teaching my peers more than the coding itself. That interest in helping out others eventually reflected in my career choice when I turned to a role that allowed me to work closely with people and tech teams.”

Kenzie’s outreach team helped her discover tech-adjacent roles perfectly aligning with her interests and career goals. Eventually, Rudi started applying for project management and customer success roles in startup companies.

Rudi explains, “I realized that there are different career opportunities that require the knowledge and skills that I have. I wanted to leverage my experience working with people and coaching other students in software engineering.”

And with a strategic job search in place, Rudi was hired as a customer success manager for a company that provides business intelligence for Senior Living companies. She adds, “That decision to pivot to a tech-adjacent role led me to get more traction in my job hunt. One of my career advisors told me to explore startup opportunities. Now, I work at a startup, and I’m definitely happy with the way things are going.”

While she may not have a web development-related role, Rudi says that the knowledge and skills she gained from Kenzie Academy have helped her work better with tech teams. She can easily relate to them, see what needs to be done, and align everything toward their end goals.

Rudi shares, “If you’ve got your heart set on tech, Kenzie’s the place that is really going to walk you through the entire process. Everyone at Kenzie shares the same goal and wants you to succeed.”

Kenzie Academy’s Holistic Support System

In addition to its well-designed curriculum, Kenzie’s holistic support system plays a crucial role in its ever-growing success.

Every Kenzie learner will receive support from the student services team to keep them focused, career advisors to guide them through their job search, and facilitators who can help them achieve their career goals. The coding school also hosts a slew of workshops and other events that invites seasoned experts and industry leaders to share tips on how learners can tackle career obstacles.

Kenzie has witnessed how tech beginners struggle with committing to the process because of the rigor of the programs and the steep competition in the job market. So, the team strives to empower Kenzie learners by instilling within them a growth mindset.

Kenzie’s career advisor explains, “The ideal job seeker isn’t defined by their skills, but by their actions, habits, and mental approach. Today, where many jobs are remote, talent pools are larger, and competition is more fierce. Being open to considering a variety of roles in tech, including adjacent tech roles, will lead to more opportunities.”

Finally, Kenzie Academy welcomes you to an active community of Kenzie learners, graduates, employer partners, and other professionals whom you can connect with and learn from. The coding school has several communities that you can join across different cities in the United States, including Seattle, Portland, and Nashville.

Take A Step Forward to Your Future Tech Career

Kenzie Academy has grown its learner base by remaining consistent in providing high-quality yet affordable education. Backed by a top-tier accredited university, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), Kenzie Academy has proven that it’s a tech and coding school you can trust.

Kenzie Academy’s acquisition by SNHU has also unlocked many opportunities for its learners. Among them is its Title-IV eligibility, which extends federal grants and scholarships to qualified Kenzie learners. SNHU has also paved the way for Kenzie learners to advance their certificate credits toward a degree in computer science, cyber security, and game art and development, to name a few.

Starting a new career in an unfamiliar field can be overwhelming, and you’ll need someone you can trust to help you navigate the field. Make the right decision from the get-go when you join Kenzie Academy.