Xavier Carrillo; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 29-year-old Xavier Carrillo in New York City. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I thought I wanted to be a police officer. No one in my family went to college, so I didn't know what other jobs existed.
I wish I hadn't focused on wanting to become a cop and had learned more about other career options — maybe I would've learned about software engineering.
Instead, I majored in marketing at Baruch and joined the police academy.
As a cadet, I realized that the work-life balance of a police officer wasn't for me, and I wanted more structure.
An old soccer teammate of mine had done a program called New York City Teaching Fellows where you earn a master's degree in education while teaching in public schools. I always liked to give back to the community, math, and being in a school environment, so I applied.
I was accepted into the program and started teaching in 2017.
I taught at a transfer high school for overage students who were under-credited. I found it fulfilling, but it was a lot of hard work. I used to get to school around 7:20 a.m., coach the basketball teams in the afternoon, then go home and plan for the next day until around 6 p.m.
I was also pursuing my master's degree in adolescent education, and I had classes once or twice a week, usually from 7 to 9 p.m.
A few years into teaching, my school launched a computer science program, and I was chosen to teach a Python class. I didn't know anything about computer science, but I enjoyed it. After school, I would teach it to myself.
When COVID-19 hit, I felt burned out. As people started working remotely, I realized I wanted to work from home, improve my work-life balance, and make more money.
One of my friends had done a coding boot camp and told me she really enjoyed it. A coworker recommended I consider General Assembly.
I submitted my résumé and references. Then, I had a phone interview. They wanted to know if I was fully committed because the boot camp is hard and time-consuming.
The final step was an assessment to test foundational skills, which I was a little nervous about because it was my first experience with coding outside the classroom. I passed and got accepted.
I quit teaching after summer school in 2021 and started the boot camp in August. It was 12 weeks long. We started with a cohort of 30, but around five people dropped out within the first two weeks because of how intense it was.
Instructional time was from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. We'd meet in sections with different professors throughout the day. There was homework every night and a major milestone project every four weeks. I would usually be on my laptop from around 8:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and even later some days.
Xavier Carrillo
It was around $15,000 if you paid upfront. I chose the Income Share Agreement (ISA), which allowed you to pay on a monthly payment plan of 10% of your salary once you found a job that paid over $40,000. I'll end up paying $22,000 in total.
After the boot camp ended, looking for a job was very difficult. I knew my first job wouldn't be at Apple or Meta. Instead, I thought about what jobs I could get immediately to eventually get there.
I would apply for jobs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. I applied to over 300. It was mentally challenging to keep getting rejected. Thankfully, my fiancée, Viviana, and my parents supported me.
Many people don't understand that just because you join a boot camp, you're not guaranteed to become a software developer, get into tech, or even get a job. The boot camp provided us with a career coach, but some of my classmates never broke into tech or returned to what they were doing.
At first, I was mostly applying for software engineering roles. After two months, I reflected on my strengths and how I could use them. I like the technical aspect of software engineering, but I also like troubleshooting and interacting with people.
I realized that customer success and account management jobs could give me the best of both worlds. In February and March 2022, I applied to more of these jobs and began to get more interviews.
At the end of April, I landed my first job as a technical customer support specialist on the market data team of a stock exchange. My total compensation was $105,000. I really liked my coworkers and also enjoyed the product.
I had been there for a year and a half when two recruiters contacted me. They were both looking for bilingual Spanish technical account managers, and I speak Spanish.
In November 2023, I took a role at a SaaS company with a total compensation of over $140,000. Initially, there was a learning curve, but the product is great, and the people I work with are even better.
I go into the office once a week, but I don't have a strict schedule. My work-life balance is so much better than when I was teaching. I can take off when I want and save time by not commuting daily.
I'll be done paying off the boot camp in October. The cost was definitely worth it. When I left teaching after four years, I made around $85,000, and my salary now is almost double what I was making.
I saw the boot camp as the best way to learn the skills I needed to transition into tech. I could've learned on YouTube but wouldn't have anything to put on my résumé.
Xavier Carrillo
My parents gave up a lot moving to the US from Ecuador, so I need to take advantage of that. My dream life involves early retirement, financial freedom, and travel. Most importantly, I want to help my family.
If you made a significant career change into tech and want to share your story, email Jane Zhang at janezhang@businessinsider.com.
