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When planning a career change, it\u2019s only logical to opt for industries that show resilience and agility. Which industries hold the most promise? Which has remained afloat and thrived in the face of crisis? When it\u2019s time to take a step outside of your current field, proceeding with caution is often a good way to go. And it\u2019s become a more fitting response amid today\u2019s turbulent times.
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Earlier this year, millions of people were jolted out of their comfort zones with the onslaught of a pandemic. Most found themselves out of jobs and scrambling to make ends meet. Some were forced to bend over backward to retain their source of income. And few were lucky enough to be on the receiving end of industry growth brought by an overnight digital shift.
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\u201cIn recent months, pandemic-fueled anxiety has pushed laid-off workers into an educational sprint,\u201d reported<\/a> the Washington Post. At the forefront of these sprints are coding bootcamps, representing a new generation of talent platforms that promise accelerated learning and employability. The question is, do they work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As 2019 drew to a close, Aderemi Odufuye came to a decision he thought he\u2019d never make. He applied for Flatiron School<\/a>\u2019s 15-week software engineering bootcamp. Aderemi, or Remi, isn\u2019t a novice in tech. He\u2019s been in the industry for years working as an applications specialist. But he still wanted to get his foot in programming, recognizing it as an invaluable key to unlocking lucrative opportunities in tech. \u201cFor the longest time, I always thought that the idea of going to a bootcamp wasn\u2019t a great one,\u201d said Remi in a video<\/a> that documented his journey in Flatiron School. \u201cPeople have this concept that at a bootcamp, you just have this structured environment that walks you through everything you need to know. And that\u2019s true. But at the same time, it grossly understated what happens in a bootcamp. [It] is, in my personal opinion, the best way to learn how to code.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n His opinion wasn\u2019t unwarranted. Shortly after graduating from Flatiron School, he landed a job as a software engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u2014yes, that\u2019s NASA\u2014all while remaining an active advocate for the tech industry. Amid a tenuous economic climate, Remi has managed to thrive. He relaunched a career in tech and grabbed the opportunities the industry has to offer. And he\u2019s not alone. Eight years since its inception, Flatiron School has seen thousands of students transform from rookies to seasoned tech professionals. In Flatiron School\u2019s 2020 Jobs Report, 86 percent of its job-seeking alums secured jobs in a range of tech fields. Graduates who landed full-times salaried roles reported an average starting salary of $69,895 Placement Rate: <\/em>For job-seeking on-campus and online graduates included in the 2020 Jobs Report including full-time salaried roles, full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, and freelance roles, and part-time roles during the reporting period. <\/em> Average Salary: For job-seeking on-campus US graduates who accepted full-time salaried jobs during the reporting period and disclosed their compensation. The average starting salary for US on-campus graduates who accepted full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, or freelance roles and disclosed compensation was $33\/hr. Average pay for a part-time role was $24\/hr (see full Jobs Report<\/a>).<\/em> And for nearly a decade, the school has not wavered from its strong job placement rate. Its steadfast performance sends a clear message: Flatiron School is a solid pathway for those ready to take a big step towards a new tech career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be remiss to talk about Flatiron School\u2019s bootcamps by simply laying out their curricula. Since Flatiron promotes results-oriented training, we figured the only right way to speak for the school is by demonstrating its impact beyond the bootcamp. How has its bootcamps helped alums make successful career transitions? And what exactly are the doors that its bootcamps open? The answer to the first question is easy: Flatiron School\u2019s support system is powerful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Flatiron School\u2019s intensive bootcamps, long hours are the norm. For Remi, this meant going to school for 15 weeks from nine o\u2019clock in the morning until six in the evening and doing nine hours of bang-your-head-against-the-wall work. \u201cIt was really, really hard. If I say it was easy, I just won\u2019t be telling you the truth. It was hard\u2014not just the concepts but with where I was in life. With everything that\u2019s been going on…the family, the kids, it was hard to pull it off. But I\u2019m glad I did,\u201d said Remi. Alongside the rigorous training was a support system that was just as robust. \u201cWhat you can get in the bootcamp\u2014or one of the advantages\u2014is the fact that you have people that you can ask loads and loads of questions,\u201d said Remi. \u201cIn a bootcamp, you have mentors, you have classmates who will be in the same cohort with you…and you have a coach who will guide you and hold your hand.\u201d The school offers comprehensive guidance on all fronts\u2014during your training and onto the job-search period\u2014courtesy of its career services team<\/a>. It works to advance the \u201cwe\u201d mindset and abandons the isolating sink-or-swim approach that\u2019s so frequently seen in universities and colleges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The career services can be divided into two teams of different yet interrelated functions: career coaching and employer partnerships. Under the Career Coaching team<\/a>, students approaching graduation undergo one-on-one personalized counseling sessions with a Career Coach who guides them into becoming \u201cno-brainer hires.\u201d The career coaching sessions aren\u2019t your typical college career centers, where only 28 percent<\/a> of students who sought advice for career options found the service helpful. Flatiron\u2019s sessions cover the ins and outs of building a personal brand that works to drum up interest in your candidacy. Mock cultural and technical interviews are also conducted to help immediately highlight your strengths, prove your value, and negotiate offers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other end, the Employer Partnerships team builds and maintains a nationwide network of hiring partners, including companies like Facebook, Amazon, JPMorgan, and Microsoft. The team takes a customized approach with each employer to learn what their ideal candidate looks like and identify tailored methods for engaging with Flatiron graduates. These include webinars, recruiting events, scheduling phone screens, and networking events, among others. By presenting right-fit candidates to these employers and providing seamless hiring processes, the Employer Partnerships team creates loyal employers who hire from Flatiron again and again. Individually, each team focuses on the two sides of hire: the employers and the candidates. Put together, they bridge the gap between these two in a way that allows them to thrive together. This brings us to the next question. For a school that boasts the ability to unlock opportunities in tech, where exactly do these doors lead to? <\/p>\n\n\n\n [Indeed and Glassdoor numbers are as of PUBLISHING DATE] <\/em> Career reinvention is rarely so linear. In a dynamic industry such as tech, there\u2019s never just one path; there\u2019s plenty. This is why the most successful career switchers are those that demonstrate flexibility and a ferocious appetite for continuous learning. It\u2019s at this juncture that Flatiron School\u2019s bootcamps<\/a> come into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First up is software engineering. Historically, engineers\u2014from any industry\u2014have always been in demand. In this year\u2019s LinkedIn Emerging Jobs Report<\/a>, those from the software industry took the helm with software engineering roles claiming a third of the top 15 seats. Little wonder why Flatiron School\u2019s Software Engineering<\/a> program remains one of the most popular bootcamps. During the 15-week program, students develop proficiency in coding while amassing an impressive portfolio of functional web applications. They come out of the program with a strong coding foundation as well as an understanding of how products are designed and created. This allows them to explore different directions in the software engineering field. Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $107,725 (with $4,000 cash bonus)<\/a> This is perhaps the most obvious and most commonly chosen path by bootcamp grads. Software engineers execute all the steps involved in delivering software to a customer. These include writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining software in a way that meets the needs of the customer. And that\u2019s really where most of their day is spent: building software from start to finish. While the job\u2014in the eyes of some\u2014may seem dull and tedious, 85 percent of software engineers say otherwise. A survey<\/a> conducted by career marketplace Hired revealed that high job satisfaction is the rule, not the exception, among software engineers. Among the reasons cited was the role\u2019s ability to provide room for growth, learning, and creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $78,178 (with $2,000 cash bonus)<\/a> To the casual speaker, web developers are basically software engineers who specialize in developing web applications using technologies, such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. Their typical day varies depending on the side they\u2019re focusing on: the client side or the server side. In charge of the former are the front-end web developers<\/em> who implement the elements of a website that users see and interact with. The content, layers, functions, and visual aspects, you name it. Everything you see and use every time you open a browser, use an application, or play a game, they made it possible. Working behind the scenes are the back-end developers<\/em> who build the foundations of the website. They build, code, and develop the elements that users never see: a server, an application, and a database. Without them, it\u2019s impossible for the end-user to have a seamless experience. You can take your pick between either paths. But if both appeal to you, then simply master both and be a full-stack developer<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $117,316 (with $19,000 commission)<\/a> If you want to work on both the technical and business aspects of projects then another unconventional path you can take is a solutions engineering career. Problem-solvers fill this role, with roughly most of their time spent identifying customers\u2019 hardware and software issues and delivering cost-effective solutions accordingly. They do so by building features and products in collaboration with other departments, such as sales, design, development, and marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]: <\/strong>$128,324<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditionally, this is where software engineers advance to. As the title implies, engineering managers are in charge of developing and refining the engineering team to meet set goals. This means driving the team to ship a working software on time and to specifications. In this role, the amount of coding one does is reduced in favor of running one-on-one training sessions, planning team-building exercises, and creating strategy roadmaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Glassdoor]: <\/strong>$92,046<\/a> Not everyone who knows how to code chooses to spend their days writing code. Some prefer to start their own business. For software entrepreneurs, this means having the freedom to transform their tech ideas into functional products. While knowing how to spell code makes the job a lot easier, a software startup\u2019s success will largely rely on much more. That is, having strong business acumen as well as excellent people management, networking, and decision-making skills. Needless to say, knowing how to code adds great value to software entrepreneurs. For one, it allows them to build their minimum viable product and run their experiments. In Flatiron School\u2019s 2020 Jobs Report, 86 percent of the nearly 1,200 job-seeking alums of Flatiron School\u2019s Software Engineering program successfully secured jobs post-program. (*for job-seeking on-campus and online graduates included in the 2020 Jobs Report including full-time salaried roles, full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, and freelance roles, and part-time roles during the reporting period; see full Jobs Report here<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another field that bears mentioning is data science, a field which the Harvard Business Review touted as \u201cthe sexiest job of the 21st century<\/a>\u201d yet \u201carguably, the vaguest<\/a>.\u201d A simple explanation points to the field\u2019s multidisciplinary nature. On the most basic level, data science isn\u2019t a cut-and-dried field. Rather, it combines several disciplines such as statistics, machine learning, computer science, and data analysis. While this may be a daunting aspect for those who wish to break into the field, there\u2019s a better way of looking at it: data science\u2019s multidisciplinary nature actually opens a multitude of opportunities for progression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $123,345<\/a> Despite being a relatively new role, data scientists have emerged as one of the most sought-after professionals across industries. On any given day, data scientists can be found gathering, cleaning, and analyzing massive datasets, after which they create algorithms and predictive models. These are later used to forecast events and help business leaders derive strategic decisions for the growth of the company. Through their input, data scientists make or break an organization\u2019s position among its competitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $75,416<\/a> From the outside, there\u2019s often a gray area between the functions of data analysts and data scientists. But while both work with data, the way they utilize it varies. Data analysts analyze vast data, identify patterns, and summarize them. Their summaries, in turn, provide context to a company\u2019s past performance. Why was there a sudden spike in sales? Why did a certain marketing campaign fail? Which regions were most receptive to marketing strategies? In a sense, data analysts are storytellers. They work with structured data to see how things unfolded, after which they offer a new perspective to things already known. Data scientists, on the other hand, are reliable fortune-tellers who work with both structured and unstructured data to estimate the unknown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $93,001<\/a> As the title suggests, these analysts give organizations a peek into what drives certain consumer behaviors. They then leverage these insights to project sales trends, improve marketing strategies, and expand customer base. Customer insights analysts serve as the direct technical bridge between customers and organizations, making sure that the decisions of the latter are always geared to meet the needs of the former. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]: <\/strong>$114,459 (with $9,000 cash bonus)<\/a> An analytics manager is the driver of the analytics team, ensuring that the team\u2019s overall tasks from the data collection and modeling to analysis is done accurately. S\/he then works closely with leaders from other departments to ensure the implementation of data-driven decisions that are expected to support business outcomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]: <\/strong>$102,461<\/a> As summarized by LinkedIn\u2019s Emerging Jobs Report, data science continues to grow at a tremendous scale, going as far as \u201caugmenting responsibilities traditionally done by statisticians.\u201d This is why those with data science proficiency can fulfill the role of a statistician. On a typical day, statisticians analyze and interpret numerical data collected via data gathering tools such as surveys, polls, and questionnaires. Their responsibilities may seem similar to data scientists. And that\u2019s because the role of a statistician has been around for ages. Its distinction from a data scientist, therefore, ultimately lies in the latter\u2019s use of new technologies. Considered as a young field, universities and colleges didn\u2019t fully adopt data science programs until late. In their place came the data science bootcamps with curricula that perfectly matched the industry\u2019s demands and dynamism. One of these is Flatiron\u2019s Data Science training program <\/a>which promises to \u201cgive you the breadth and depth needed to become a well-rounded data scientist.\u201d And it\u2019s kept its word. In Flatiron School\u2019s 2020 Jobs Report, 86 percent* of the respondent alums accepted a job offer within the reporting period. Graduates who secured full-time salaried roles reported an average starting salary of $85,737. Placement Rate: <\/em>For job-seeking on-campus and online graduates included in the 2020 Jobs Report including full-time salaried roles, full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, and freelance roles, and part-time roles during the reporting period. <\/em> Average Salary: <\/em>For job-seeking on-campus US graduates who accepted full-time salaried jobs during the reporting period and disclosed their compensation. The average starting salary for US on-campus graduates who accepted full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, or freelance roles and disclosed compensation was $33\/hr. Average pay for a part-time role was $24\/hr (see full Jobs Report).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Flatiron School\u2019s introduction of the Cybersecurity Analytics Bootcamp<\/a> is a fitting response to today\u2019s increasing cybersecurity needs. Driven by a growing number of cyberattacks due to the rapid and unprecedented transition to Cloud, companies are advancing cyber resilience with security analysts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Glassdoor]:<\/strong> $112,468<\/a> A threat intel analyst is in charge of conducting diagnostic tests to assess the strength of a company\u2019s security system. From these, the analyst identifies vulnerabilities in the system as well as potential cyber threats for future mitigation or detection. It\u2019s safe to say that threat analysts spend their days playing cat and mouse. They monitor the system, and try to stay ahead of hackers who attempt to steal, corrupt, or take over confidential data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Payscale]:<\/strong> $90,000<\/a> A security compliance analyst ensures that a company\u2019s network adheres to internal and external cybersecurity policies and standards. In line with this, they provide feedback and constructive recommendations to make sure that any issues are corrected immediately. Security compliance analysts keep a company\u2019s confidentiality and integrity in check. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the recent uproar in cybersecurity attacks, another field in need of highly-trained talent is cybersecurity engineering. Whereas analysts uncover potential pain points and threats, engineers develop and implement high-tech solutions and security controls to defend the perimeter. Put another way, engineering roles execute more of the hands-on work, developing security systems from the ground up. Recognizing the renewed urgency for security professionals, Flatiron School recently unveiled its Cybersecurity Engineering bootcamp<\/a>. The bootcamp is a 15-week program that prepares career switchers for a broad range of cybersecurity jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $109,182<\/a> Sometimes called information security engineers, these professionals build firewalls and systems that guarantee the safety of sensitive data. Due to the nature of data they handle daily, security engineers have a knack for working under tremendous pressure, a job hazard that\u2019s immediately offset by a six-figure salary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Median pay [according to Indeed]:<\/strong> $120,629<\/a> Also going by the title of \u201cethical hackers,\u201d pen testers are\u2014as their other title indicates\u2014the well-intentioned hackers. Pen testers are generally seen trying to break into networks to expose weak spots in need of improved protection. Sounds exciting? It is. Pen testers spend the bulk of their day trying to outwit security administrators and designers. Of course, like any other job, the fun ends when written reports come into play. Covering Flatiron School\u2019s career switcher bootcamps, the words of Avi Flombaum<\/a>, co-founder, come to mind. \u201cIf we’ve done our job and you’ve got the grit, the list is virtually limitless. A misconception that I’ve noticed…is that coding bootcamps teach just a specific technical skill\u2026\u201d \u201cWe don’t have time to teach you everything…so we have a different aim at Flatiron School: to help students learn how to learn<\/em>. If they’ve done that, they can continue to learn on the job, to pick up new skills and languages that we explicitly don’t teach here, and really customize their career paths based on their interests.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The last part starts early in the game through Flatiron School\u2019s capstone projects. This was put in place to give students the chance to dedicate everything they learned to execute projects of their choosing. Doing so gives them a taste of the challenges and excitement that come with building projects from scratch and watching their ideas come to life. For Remi, this materialized when he made Bitbank<\/a>. Bitbank is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange where users can follow cryptocurrencies and build a portfolio of the different crypto assets they\u2019ve acquired. The project caught the eye of many, including Career Karma<\/a> which hailed it as one of the best coding projects earlier this year. Another notable project was a COVID-19 forecasting model<\/a> made by Khairul Omar<\/a>, a Flatiron School Data Science bootcamp alum. Like Remi, Khairul also made a career pivot at the height of the pandemic. And like Remi, his project also caught the eyes of notable figures, particularly an official from the Malaysian Ministry of Health. Shortly after he presented his project, Khairul was tapped by the Malaysian government to run multiple studies regarding the pandemic. In particular, the studies determined the best virus mitigation practices as well as standards that need to be met before lockdowns are eased. At present, Khairul works as an analytics development manager for Sainsbury\u2019s, the second-largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. \u201cI\u2019ve earned a couple of certifications in my life. I have a bachelor\u2019s degree in [metallurgical and materials] engineering but nothing right now means more to me than this piece of paper,\u201d said Remi as he held up the certificate of completion he received after completing the Flatiron School bootcamp. \u201cThis represents hard work. This represents dedication. This represents never giving up…I think in life, you don\u2019t get what you want. You get what you absolutely have to have and this is something I really had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flatiron School helps people navigate a career change with confidence. It fronts both academic and career services that work to respond not just to market demands but also to the needs of aspiring employees. This is backed by the successes of Remi, Khairul, and the countless alumni of the Flatiron School bootcamps. So, if you\u2019re waiting for a sign or a nudge to jumpstart your career makeover, now is as good a time as any. Take this opportunity to \u201c<\/a>learn how to learn<\/a><\/em>\u201d<\/a> and discover the range of opportunities that you can explore. Because if there\u2019s anything to be learned from the Flatiron School initiative, it\u2019s that lifelong learning is the secret to lifelong success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When planning a career change, it\u2019s only logical to opt for industries that show resilience and agility. Which industries hold the most promise? Which has remained afloat and thrived in the face of crisis? When it\u2019s time to take a step outside of your current field, proceeding with caution is often a good way to…","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":28487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28859],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-partner-spotlight"},"acf":{"post_sub_title":"","sprint_id":"","query_class":"Partner Spotlight","school_sft":"","parent_sft":"","school_privacy_policy":"","has_review":null,"is_sponser_post":["yes"],"is_guest_post":""},"yoast_head":"\nOn Second Thought<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nCareers After the Bootcamp: Titles and Tasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Entrepreneur <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nCybersecurity Analytics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Threat Intelligence Analyst<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nCybersecurity Engineering <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSecurity Engineer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe New Faces of Tech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nFind Your Fit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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