A year ago, Luis Salazar was feeling “stuck” during the COVID era after his stint of service in the military. In this time, he found himself interested in the field of Information Technology. He decided to kick off his journey toward a career in the industry with funding from the Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC) program. When he started his cohort training with Training Concepts, he was working a Tier 1 Help Desk Support job. Now, he is working his dream job in I.T. as an Azure Cloud Engineer at CDW.
Back to the Beginning
At the start of his jump into I.T., Luis knew that he wanted to earn the certifications that would make him valuable in the industry. After significant research, he decided that enrolling in Training Concepts’ IT Career Start program would allow him to do that. That’s when his Training Concepts success story began. Luis explained, “Everybody wants the experience, but certifications can also bring you to the table when a degree can’t.” Through his research into different programs, Training Concepts stood out to him with the offering of CompTIA Cloud+ training. To Luis, this implied a more in-depth training experience than other programs he had explored.
Through his research, Luis knew Training Concepts offered an abundance of quality technical training. However, he didn’t realize until he started the program the depth of support he would receive from the TC team. Luis remarked, “Something that really grabbed me from day one with this program was the teachers and support system and how much they really wanted to help. That is something I really like about Training Concepts is how smooth it was and how easy it was.” Luis is thankful for the continued communication from the Training Concepts student success team since he concluded the program and the myriad of resources and lifelong relationships to take advantage of post-training. “They still reach out to me. They’re still checking in to see if there is anything they can do to help me, and you want that.” Luis recollected.
Living the Dream
In his current role at CDW, Luis is shadowing other Azure Cloud Engineers’ projects. He will soon be able to build out whole Azure platforms and launch them into the cloud. Luis explains that CDW has built out a 12–18-month program where they teach you how to be a consultant/cloud engineer. He says, “They don’t expect you to know everything, but they expect you to come in wanting to learn.” The opportunity to collaborate with other cloud engineers, project managers, and sales team members from all over the world has created the perfect environment for Luis to continue learning.
Luis considers himself an ambassador for Training Concepts and loves to educate others on the program. He feels the cohort program at TC set him up for the path that he is on now as an Azure Cloud Engineer at CDW. He expressed that “Lining up my schooling and beefing up my resume with Training Concepts allowed everything else to fall into place for me to get into the position I’m in now.” TC’s courses and labs prepared Luis to speak on everything he learned when it came to his real-world job interviews. He assures, “They really lay out the foundation and they prepare you for more than just the test.”
Luis encourages others just starting out in the field to give it their all and put in the effort. “If you really want this, you are really going to have to work hard. It is a good thing, though, because it is extremely rewarding in the end.”
Train with TC
If you’re ready to jumpstart a successful career in I.T., the team at Training Concepts can help you, too! With hands-on, real-world training from our expert instructors, you’ll be on the fast track to earning your certifications and accomplishing your career goals. We have all the courses you need! Contact us today to learn more and get started!