Life After CareerFoundry: Updates on Web Development and Data Grads in the Workplace

CareerFoundry programs teach you everything you need to know to get your first job in tech—even if you don’t have any previous experience.

With career-change programs in full-stack web development, data analytics, product management, digital marketing, UX design, and UI design, CareerFoundry can help you go from beginner to job-ready tech professional in a matter of months.

Our alumni end up with different job titles that reflect their various interests, backgrounds, and opportunities available. Some have previous experience that qualifies them for senior roles immediately, while others may start at a paid internship before securing a junior position. Some also get an apprenticeship with one of our employment partners to gain valuable real-world experience before landing a full-time role. 

Whatever the situation, we are proud to see so many CareerFoundry graduates forge careers they love. But what exactly are they doing in their new roles? What newfound skills are they putting into practice, and what are they contributing to their new teams?

We got in touch with some recent graduates from our Full-Stack Web Development and Data Analytics Programs and asked their employers and colleagues to share some insights into how they are thriving in their new careers. Keep reading to find out what they had to share, and check out this article for further glowing testimonials from our UX and UI design graduates.

Lade Kolawale, Frontend Software Developer at Advanced Metrics

After graduating from the Full-Stack Web Development Program at CareerFoundry, Lade took part in a tech apprenticeship project with Tech Fleet to gain that all-important work experience in a new industry. It was during her apprenticeship that she landed her first full-time job as a frontend developer!

Lade is now working at Advanced Metrics, a SaaS company in the healthcare industry. It’s clear from Chief Technology Officer John Kreiner that she’s making a huge impact in her work there. Here’s what he had to say about Lade:

“Lade joined my team in September 2022 and from day one it was obvious that she was very special. She jumped into the mix, quickly learning and taking over our UX design work that had been started by a third party, and took ownership of the entire inventory within Adobe XD (a product she had to learn on the fly). 

Lade quickly proved that her value was even more than anticipated. My UI engineering lead was able to work with her early on and provided feedback that she was a very quick learner and was picking up our Angular 14 UI implementation—again, a language she was not familiar with—when coming on board. 

As Lade advanced through her first couple of months, she inquired about our website and who manages it and asked how she could help. Since then, Lade has taken over all enhancements, updates, and patches to our WordPress site. 

Lade has a natural ability to speak and talk technically, but also be a great partner to our business colleagues. She proved this as she stepped in to bridge the gap between our subject matter experts and our project management and engineering teams, working to provide the pictures (wireframes and high-fidelity mock-ups) to help drive discussions, user story creation, and creative thinking within the team for a major revamp of our SaaS software platform. 

Honestly, without Lade on board, we would be nowhere close to delivering our product. I cannot say enough great things about her. The sky is the limit for her here at Advanced Metrics and anyone that joins with the caliber of work ethic and talent that she has brought to the role. 

From my experience, and really the entire team at Advanced Metrics, it is obvious that CareerFoundry does an excellent job at providing the right level of skills in the area of design and frontend development.”

John Kreiner, Chief Technology Officer at Advanced Metrics

You can read more about Lade’s exciting career change journey in this article: How I Got a Tech Apprenticeship With Tech Fleet

Pauline Margossian, Full-Stack Web Developer at Aaron.ai

With a background in business administration and insurance, Pauline decided to study web development with CareerFoundry and make a career change to programming. What’s more, being unemployed at the time, she was able to study for free with a Bildungsgutchein (training voucher) thanks to support from the German Jobcenter.

After graduating, Pauline landed an intern role at Aaron.ai, which provides AI-powered assistance to improve patient-practice communication in Germany, which recently led to a full-time developer position! 

Speaking about her experience working at Aaron, here’s what Senior Software Engineer Mert Can had to say about Pauline:

“Pauline started as an intern developer and she was recently promoted to associate full-stack developer! She earned her promotion as she takes care of each step in our development pipeline seriously and professionally.

One of the most significant things she does well is adapting to new technologies and challenges. She helps in multiple areas across the product team—and not only in topics she’s learned from CareerFoundry but all development-related topics.

Based on Pauline’s background and my experience working with her, I would definitely recommend hiring CareerFoundry graduates to other companies.”

Mert Can Alici, Senior Software Engineer at Aaron.ai 

Read more about Pauline’s success story in this article: Pauline’s Career Change to Web Developer: How She Discovered the Reward of Working in Tech

Timon Schill, Software Developer at Atos

Timon studied theology at university and then began his career in sales and consulting. His curiosity led him to web development, and in 2022 he kicked off his career change journey with CareerFoundry. 

After completing the program, Timon landed his first role in the field and is now working as a software developer at Atos, a business consulting service based in Germany.

Here’s what Dennis, a project manager at Atos, had to say about working with Timon:

“Timon impressed us with his high level of initiative and willingness to learn. He has integrated himself into the team in an exemplary manner. He was able to quickly familiarize himself with complex topics and consistently impresses us with his extensive knowledge.

From our experience, CareerFoundry equipped him with a fundamental understanding of web development which made him a valuable asset to us as a company and potential other employers as well.

We hope he continues to make an impact with his work and on his colleagues and that he gets the necessary support to develop his potential!”

Dennis Moeller, Project Manager at Atos

If you’d like to see some of Timon’s work, check out his professional portfolio website.

Ray Rusli Junior, Business Intelligence Consultant at bdg

Ray’s background is certainly a unique one. Having worked for a number of years in fashion operations—at the likes of COS and, subsequently, Dolce & Gabbana—Ray began to realize he was on the wrong career path. 

Looking to make more impactful changes in his work from a more strategic level, Ray turned his attention to data and business intelligence. He graduated from the Data Analytics Program at CareerFoundry and is now working as a business intelligence consultant at bdg based in Berlin. 

We asked his colleague Leo, a senior consultant at bdg, to share his thoughts on working with Ray:

“Ray’s entry into the company was positive from the start. He is really good at connecting with people and therefore quickly became part of our team. Moreover, he has become a central point of contact for the concerns and minor issues of colleagues and assists them with reflective advice. He also always brings a smile to everyone’s face with his friendly manner.

The fact that he quickly connects with people is also evident in his cooperation with customers. For example, after only a short time, he was invited by colleagues on the customer side for an after-work gathering.

As connecting to people is his main strength, I hope that he can continue to develop his interpersonal skills even more in the future. Few people can do that as well as Ray can. 

Likewise, he should continue to question things as he currently does so that he understands the core of what he is doing in his work as a business intelligence consultant. He’s challenging the status quo of certain procedures which also means we can continue to improve as a team. 

CareerFoundry graduates like Ray show curiosity, have a thirst for knowledge, and drive improvement in a business. All are characteristics any company would be happy to see in an employee.”

Leo Latscha, Senior Consultant at bdg

You can read more about Ray’s story in this article: From Fashion Operations to Business Intelligence Consultant: Ray’s Career Path That Led Him to the Tech Industry

So, if you were curious to know about what a new career is like after studying with CareerFoundry, hopefully, by now, you can see that the future is bright! 

If you’re feeling inspired by these success stories and want to find out if making a career change into tech is a good fit for you too, book a free call with an expert program advisor at CareerFoundry. 

Not sure which path is right for you yet? Sign up for a free, introductory short course in the field of your choice to get a taste of a career in web development, data analytics, UX or UI design, digital marketing, or product management.

To find out more about CareerFoundry graduates and the great work they go on to achieve, head to our Graduate Outcomes page or check out the following articles:

• Life After CareerFoundry: Updates on UX/UI Design Graduates in the Workplace
• How To Become a Product Designer: Literature to Product Design in 9 Months
• Starting a New Career at 30: How Julian Became a Data Analyst