Bootcamp Graduate Finds Success From Instructors’ Stellar Teaching Techniques

Ricardo Gutierrez was working as a project manager with a bachelor’s degree in business administration until COVID-19 hit and forced him into unemployment. During COVID-19, he worked as an Amazon delivery driver. Ricardo knew he would not want to deliver for Amazon forever, so he decided to go back to school and further his education. 

During his time as a project manager, he had a client who spoke highly of We Can Code IT. Once his days as a project manager were over, he remembered this client’s recommendation. Going into bootcamp, Ricardo did not have much previous knowledge in  coding. He watched a few Youtube videos and read some books, but knew he needed more guidance.

Once he stepped foot on campus, Ricardo’s first impression of the We Can Code IT staff and instructors was that they were very knowledgeable about the content they were teaching.  

Having knowledgeable teachers is essential for obtaining the most valuable education. We Can Code IT instructors utilize a specific teaching method that helps students succeed in the real world. 

“Even though we were given directions for different problems and working from a bullet-pointed list of what we needed to do, the answers sometimes were not given in front of us. We would have to research and come up with solutions even if we didn’t know how to do it. It’s like a real world approach and I am using these skills in the field. You have to go outside of your comfort zone and find solutions,” said Ricardo.

Because of this unique teaching method, Ricardo has a lot to say about the value of our bootcamp.

“The most valuable components [of bootcamp] were problem solving and working in groups. We had to try to find out how we were going to come up with a solution for the different projects we were assigned. We would meet in the mornings and come up with action plans for the rest of the day. It was a great opportunity to network with other students,” Ricardo exclaimed. 

 Our bootcamps offer much more than just coding knowledge. Each student is required to meet with their student success coach as part of their curriculum. 

“Student success was very helpful. They were always reaching out and asking how the job search was going and they always made themselves available just in case I had any questions. The posting of the jobs on Slack was super helpful for me and was something I would like to highlight. They are very engaging and helpful during bootcamp. I felt like the career service classes portion of the bootcamp was super helpful because I could build my resume and practice how interviews would be in the real world. Preparing for the interviews was as arguably just as important as the coding part of the program,” Ricardo said. 

Today, Ricardo works as a software developer for PNC. He continues to utilize his work ethic that he demonstrated during bootcamp.