Richard's Success Story

With current trends in the industry constantly changing and lack of real world application of programming concepts taught in institutions, Richard was looking to find a way in the software industry to better understand these trends and applications. His desire to increase his skill set motivated him to get involved in Exerceo's Software Development Working Group and System Administration Working Group.

Richard encountered a couple challenges throughout our program which tested his ability to step out of his comfort zone. The main challenge for him was the teaching portion of our program. He remembers how "My stress level was high", but later realized that "teaching was not as painful as I thought it would be". Richard developed a critical skill, which was building his knowledge on a topic given to him. By doing so with this topic in particular, which was Maven, it lead him to apply it more in the Software Development Working Group and at home assisting with open source projects. "That is how I was able to overcome the challenge, building my knowledge in the subject which also increased my confidence when it came to teaching the module".

The most surprising thing for Richard was that teaching a software module actually became his favorite part of the program! "Scary at first, but it helped tremendously with learning about a certain subject. It motivated me to learn more about Maven so that I could teach it adequately to future participants. There is always room for improvement when teaching a subject". Additionally, as he progressed through the program, he discovered new problems and solving them in a group setting helped him stay involved. He recalls how "The comradery amongst all of the participants were amazing and is something I will always remember".

The Software Development Working Group helped tremendously with his professional career as he ended up becoming an integral part of his software team. Richard is currently a System Integration Engineer at APG, providing system administration support and maintaining his suite of software utilities that have been built specifically for the program. His "Participation in the program helped [him] become effective at developing code and maintaining the code base which are skills that [he] still uses today". He said how "As my skill set increased, so did the recognition in the positions I filled. The rewards soon followed as I began showcasing my newly acquired skills in the workplace".