Dustin’s Success Story

I started attending the Exerceo Software Development Working Groups as a Sophomore at University of Maryland: Baltimore County studying Computer Science. I found the advertisement through UMBCworks, where many job and internship postings can be found for all majors. I had just ended my first internship and wanted to be challenged more in my career. Though the technical working group sessions were more of a refresher for me, I definitely was blown away with the amount of focus on the soft skills that were needed for the industry as well as the emphasis on building a five year plan for your career.

I took the advice to heart as I started in the Incubator program. This helped me tremendously to build my skills and become hundred times better at Software and Mentorship. The one-on-one Mentoring that occurs at the Incubator uniquely tailors the experience to each candidate. The Software Development Working Group and Incubator created a positive environment for me to learn at my own pace, and excel at a pace that was different than others.

During my time as a Junior, I started another internship while attending the Incubator and re-attending the Software Development Working Groups. All of this kept me busy and challenged me to hone my time management skills and personal motivation. I wanted to learn more and challenge myself, and I found that the more that I put into the Incubator and my internship, the more that I learned and gained in my career goals. Because of this, I grew as a candidate and was able to start leading and mentoring at the Incubator before I even started my Senior year at college. My classes became one hundred times easier too as I grew through both the Incubator and my continuing studies.

As I completed my internship and graduated with honors from UMBC, I was able to secure a full time position immediately with one of Exerceo’s partners. I attribute this success to the Working Groups and the Incubator, and continue to participate in both programs to this day by contributing my time to new candidate’s success every session. One of the most fulfilling parts of my career is giving back to these new candidates and watching them grow and succeed in their careers. These opportunities are rarely given, so any chance that I can lend my aid, I do so willingly. The environment that has been built at Exerceo is unlike any other, and I hope to provide and build this environment bigger and better than before.