Ever thought of trying something new but you are unsure of what you need to do in order to get ahead of the race? Joey Capolongo was able to learn a new skill that positively rebooted her career. Do you know coding?
Joey Capolongo had average entry level jobs but she felt stranded for so long that she doubted that she can do anything else.
One day, she overcame her self-doubt and at the age of 42 entered a career in tech.
Capolongo went through the same things most employees go through - being stuck in an average job that doesn't really pay much but doubles the work load.
"I figured if we worked hard, we could do anything," she says. When she moved to Tampa from New York City and then to Charlotte with her husband to pursue his dreams, she needed to take in entry-level jobs in each new place. Her resume became diverse as she had experience in heating-oil, health care and then ended up with LendingTree by 2008.
And then that feeling of being stuck happened and she didn't have the backbone to support a big move for herself. She only had an old laptop and didn't have any programming skills - plus, she was shy.
Until one day, she met Melissa Avery-Weir, a module developer. Avery-Weir was conducting a two-day programming show and she pushed Capolongo to do it. "You positively can," she says.
Avery-Weir mentored her every Sunday on web design while Capolongo took HTML, CSS and Javascript classes. She was on a roll and continued to study at Tech Talent South. Avery-Weir pushed her to her limits that she even overcame her shyness. To pursue this new edge, she had to ask her managers to work late to accommodate her classes and assures LendingTree that she already has back up plans to cover her work.
She was described to be a "tired mess" but she graduated and a tech door opened for her which boossts her customer-service experience background.
She was later on a quality-assurance analyst at Lending-Tree because of her dual background in customer service and tech.
Coding requires hard work and dedication especially these days where coding is essential in the computer and online world. Age, lack of education and motivation should not prohibit people from learning new skills.
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