For Garrison Ward, Dev10 “seemed liked a no-brainer.”

He knew he wanted to transition to a career in tech. But without a computer science degree under his belt, he needed to build up his skills. A coding bootcamp was too expensive, so he explored free training opportunities. He scanned job postings for junior developers to figure out what tech stack he should focus on. During that research, he came across Dev10.

“The training, getting paid to learn how to code, and getting set up at a client afterwards. It seemed like a great opportunity,” he said.

Making a career change happen

Ward faced a common challenge during his academic career.

“In college I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he said. “I got a degree in economics, but I still didn’t really know if that was for me.”

After graduating, Ward worked for a family real estate business as a loan officer and a realtor. He enjoyed helping people purchase their homes, but he had a nagging feeling that a sales-oriented career just wasn’t for him. About four years after earning his college degree, he knew he wanted a more technical career.

He joined Dev10 in March 2023 and acknowledged that the transition was not easy.

“When I first got into the training, I’m going to be honest, I was overwhelmed,” Ward said. “It’s extremely fast-paced, but for good reason.”

Ward, who is 27, attributes much of his success to the Dev10 instructors, who he described as “more helpful and responsive” than any of his college professors. For example, Ward recalled reaching out to one of his Dev10 instructors early in his training to ask for help. The instructor immediately hopped on a call, even though it was after hours, and spent 90 minutes reviewing the assignments.

“We went through pretty much all the curriculum at a high level… and basically pinpointed my weak points to figure out a plan for success from there,” he said. “I think at that point that really restored my confidence in succeeding in the program and also working as a developer.”

Client placement takes off

Ward, who lives in Texas, is working for a major airline as a Dev10 Associate. Looking back, he can see why the training at Dev10 is structured the way it is and why the curriculum covers certain key topics, like pair programming as well as creating and working with user stories.

“It all transfers over extremely well,” he said.

Ward is using the skills he learned as part of a team that is focused on integrating a third-party application to the airline’s back-end services. The application will primarily be used by pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians to keep track of plane maintenance.

“It’s really interesting to see how the aviation industry works behind the scenes,” he said.

Now, when people ask him for career advice, he never hesitates to share his experience.

“The whole process was phenomenal,” he said. “I will forever recommend Dev10.”

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