What were you doing prior to Shadow-Soft Academy and what motivated you to be a part of it?
Before joining Shadow-Soft Academy, I was working as part of a team that provided technical support for the Positive Train Control systems for trains. My role inside of the larger team encompassed a variety of duties including system configuration, data analysis, and database administration. I had a lot of responsibilities and felt the work was important, but I didn’t feel that I was developing my personal technology skills. The type of work that I was doing was very specific to railroad locomotives and I wanted to have an opportunity to work with more updated technologies and to have a little more creative freedom in my work.
What were some of the biggest takeaways from your time in Shadow-Soft Academy?
Shadow-Soft Academy represented an opportunity to step out of industry-specific technologies and into emerging technologies, giving me the opportunity to solve a multitude of real-world problems which consistently challenged me to be better. What you invest in Shadow-Soft Academy is what you will get out of it. What I mean by this is if you only do the bare minimum, and you only work to pass requirements, you will gain knowledge, but you will only to a fraction of the potential if you had jumped in head first. However, if you are willing to challenge yourself and see the minimum requirements as more of a launching point, a tool to direct you in your studies, and you dive deeper into the subjects taking advantage of the resources made available you, especially the Shadow-Soft consultants and engineers, there is really no limit to what you can walk away knowing.
How has your life changed since Shadow-Soft Academy?
Since completing Shadow-Soft Academy, I have joined the Shadow-Soft team as an Associate DevOps Consultant and many aspects of my life have changed for the better. In my new position, I have been able to do work that I find extremely rewarding, the nature of the work constantly challenges me and I get to work with technologies that I want to work with rather than working with outdated technologies. My work life balance has also significantly improved allowing me to spend more time with my family.
Why would you encourage someone to take part in Shadow-Soft Academy?
If you feel stuck and are looking for a jumpstart, I would encourage you to pursue being a part of the Shadow-Soft Academy. The learning environment provides a unique opportunity to become proficient in technologies via coursework, guidance from working industry professionals, and hands-on application in environments that you’d see in your actual day to day duties in a professional work setting. The type of experience you gain from the Shadow-Soft Academy is experience typically obtained through years of on the job experience, and many hours of frustration from trial and error.
Highlights
- Was working in a niche technology market with no personal skill set development
- Academy gave him training in emerging technologies
- Currently working as part of Shadow-Soft’s team in a position were he is feel consistently challenged by new technologies