I’m Leveling Up in Tech
Why I Chose Level Up In Tech to Guide my Career Transition
In a previous post, I told you about my decision to change careers and embark upon the adventure of becoming a DevOps Engineer. I promised updates, and after having completed the first week of my journey, now seems like a good time for an update…
Adventure stories are an entire genre of fiction. One of the characteristics of any adventure story is the role of the guide. That’s because the protagonist in any adventure story always has another person or a thing that guides them along the way.
My adventure of becoming a DevOps Engineer might not be fictional, but like any good adventure story, it needs a guide. For that, I have the fine folks of Level Up in Tech.
Why Level Up in Tech?
There are a lot of options when it comes to choosing a course provider for a track in cloud computing and DevOps. That leads to the obvious question — out of all of the available options, why did I choose Level Up in Tech?
I learned something a long time ago about evaluating pretty much any organization in terms of how well I would fit into it, and how well we would work together.
What I learned is that the answer to a single, important question will tell me almost everything I need to know. At the very least, it will give me foundational criteria for any other consideration I might have. The question is this — what is your guiding philosophy?
In other words, no matter what product or service you provide, no matter who you are, no matter what systems you have in place, when you absolutely must make an important decision, what is the philosophy that the organization relies upon?
The reason this is so important is because people, products, services, and systems come and go. That core will remain. If that core changes, it will likely have a severe impact on the organization, good or bad, so I want to know what it is. Ultimately, if the guiding philosophy of an organization is in conflict with my own philosophy and/or ethics, it won’t be a good fit for me.
When I started looking at options for choosing a DevOps course provider, I had this core question in mind. I did what research was available and attempted to understand what the guiding philosophy of each provider was.
The reason that I chose Level Up in Tech is because the founder of the company, Broadus Palmer, has a very obvious and important core philosophy — no matter who you are, or what your background is, you can do this. We will help you do it.
I knew that he and his organization were committed to this philosophy because Broadus’ story is one of having come from zero tech background to becoming a successful DevOps Engineer, and now a successful provider of training. I knew they were committed because a lot of the graduates of his program also came from zero tech backgrounds and successfully completed the program.
That’s huge.
It’s huge because it means that Broadus isn’t just talking the talk (there are a lot of “gurus” out there who will do that, take your money, and bounce), he is walking the the walk. And he has helped many others walk the walk, too.
Familiarity Breeds Admiration
I will admit that my opinion of Broadus going into my research was a bit biased because, well, I know Broadus. We actually graduated from the same High School (he graduated after me, so we didn’t know each other in school), and I know members of his extended family.
We both grew up in a small, rural Virginia county (Fluvanna). So, to see a guy like him, a guy who is a lot like me in significant ways, actually succeeding at the things that I want to succeed at, is a major inspiration. I’ve told him exactly that.
What really put Level Up in Tech over the top, for me, was that Broadus is obviously good people. I know his people. I know where he’s from. I know many of the challenges he’s faced and overcome. But more than anything, he not only overcame them to be successful, but he’s now helping others do the exact same thing. That’s really powerful.
3 Amazing Advantages
So far, after one week in the program. I could not be any happier or more confident in my decision to choose Level Up in Tech as my guide. Here are just a few quick reasons why:
- I have support and community. My team is made up of 7 other students and two mentors. Beyond that, there is the entire population of Level Up in Tech students, coaches, and mentors. Everyone comes together in a giant supportive community. It’s amazing.
- The coursework is exceptionally well thought-out. I’m not a formal instructional designer, but I’ve done some instructional design both personally and with others. Everything about Level Up in Tech is expertly designed to help you along the path without overwhelming you. And if you do get overwhelmed, the community is there to help and support.
- The approach is holistic. Level Up in Tech is about more that just getting you through the course. It is about giving you the foundation you need to succeed both during, and after the course.
I’m going to go over all three of these features in more detail in future posts, but these are the three big things that really sets Level Up in Tech apart, and puts it way ahead, of competing providers.
Onward!
There’s a lot more that I want to say, but I’ve said enough, for now. At this point, it is enough to say that I’m really enjoying everything about my Level Up in Tech experience, so far, and I know that could not have chosen a better guide for my DevOps adventure.
