From the Lumberyard to the Bank in 9 WeeksAugust 21st, 2020
Frederick Lindsey wasn't always a Test Automation Engineer for a prminent bank earning a salary large enough to support both himself and his family. Not very long ago, Frederick was a recent graduate in Orlando, FL, with a degree in computer animation. That's when his mother called.
“Immediate hip replacement,” she said. But Frederick could read between the lines: Surgery. Forced retirement. Bills.
Knowing his mother had minimal disability funds and no means of supporting herself, Frederick put aside his dreams in computer animation and told mom he was coming home. Frederick knew there were no jobs in computer animation in Birmingham, Alabama, but he also knew his mother needed him. The choice wasn’t easy. But it was clear:
Family comes first.
Back in Birmingham, Frederick took a job for minimum wage working the lumberyard at the local big-box retailer. It would be enough to survive. But only that. Months whirled by, his mother’s medical bills were stacking on the kitchen counter. Day after day, shift after shift, he watched as his aging father came out of retirement to help keep the roof over their heads for another month. Times were tough, but so were the Lindseys. With no end in sight, they buckled down for the long haul.
That’s when Frederick saw a customer struggling to load a stack of lumber in his truck.
“I ran over to help this guy load up his two-by-fours,” Frederick said, “then I noticed he was wearing a TrueCoders t-shirt.”
Frederick gave the customer his easy smile and struck up a conversation. “I asked him about his shirt and he started telling me about the TrueCoders program.” This new friend told him he would be a perfect candidate. If he was interested, Frederick needed to call ASAP to reserve the last seat in the next class.
Anyone else may have thought the program sounded too good to be true and pushed it into the back of their mind; a full-time course to learn code in nine weeks plus job placement sounded pretty incredible… and ambitious.
But so was Frederick Lindsey.
Before the day ended, Frederick called the number the customer had given him. “I’m in.”
In less than a week, Frederick was enrolled at TrueCoders, taking coding classes from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon every day. Every night, Frederick would pack up his laptop and head back to the lumberyard, scraping together as much money for his family as he could in his off-school hours.
“If I didn’t have a night shift at the lumberyard, I would stay after class and work late.”
Nine weeks later, Frederick’s energy and focus gave birth to a new skill set, and a new opportunity TrueCoders helped place: a Test Automation position at a prominent regional bank headquarters making upwards of $50k per year.
“With a bigger paycheck and more free time, I’m able to see and help my mom financially more. Before I was just giving whatever I could. Now I’m able to pay whole bills off.”
“I know for a lot of people, college isn’t a great option. This is an amazing alternative to that. It’s much cheaper and faster and you probably come out with the same pay grade as someone who went to college.”
Frederick admits that he still has levels to achieve, but TrueCoders was a great place to start.
*This is Frederick’s story. Your training and job placement experience may be different.