A Complete Guide to Starting Your Tech Career with Tech Talent South

The widening skills gap remains among the top 10 challenges of the tech industry in 2021. CompTIA reports that 93 percent of IT companies noticed a disparity between their IT staff’s current and desired skill levels. This affects their business processes as IT companies require the right tech talent to develop innovative technologies. 

The diversity gap is another long-standing concern in the tech industry as nationally, minorities and women still make up a smaller percentage of the IT sector, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s report. 

Tech Talent South’s training programs aim to reconcile both gaps in the industry by upskilling thousands of tech specialists and career-switchers, as well as bridging the skills gap by championing diversity. 

Tech Talent South (TTS) is a tech recruitment, training, and staffing company with a talent network spanning 48 states. TTS offers foundational and advanced Web Development and Data Science training programs. With 89 percent of its talent database identifying as women or BIPOC, TTS believes everyone has the potential to do something big.  

There are three main steps to starting a tech career with TTS: apply, train, and deploy. Read on as we guide you through the TTS experience.

How to Start Your Tech Career with Tech Talent South

We spoke with Mary Lachapelle, the Vice President of Growth at Tech Talent South, to learn more about the admissions process. Below are the steps you need to follow to enroll in one of the Tech Talent South courses. 

1. Apply to Tech Talent South

First, you have to complete a short application form and schedule an interview with the TTS Talent Success Team.

Lachapelle recommends the applicants prepare for the interview after doing some research on Tech Talent South’s website. “Candidates who demonstrate a high level of professionalism, intellectual ability and curiosity, self-motivation and tenacity, strong communication skills, humility and coachability, and an authentic desire or willingness to pursue a tech career really stand out,” she says. 

During this interview, the TTS Talent Success Team member will ask about your career goals and talk with you more about the company’s courses and mission.

In this step, you need to think about what kind of work you enjoy most and are curious to explore further. “Do you want to work regularly with other people in a customer-facing role? Would you rather work independently? Do you enjoy visual design? Do you like wearing a lot of hats or would you prefer to focus on one thing? Are you really into math and crunching numbers?” 

Make a list of all your previous work experiences and think about what you you loved most. 

Before starting the course you need to make sure you can invest enough time in your education. Lachapelle recommends applicants ask themselves the following questions: Are you prepared to commit to 10 to 20 weeks of class? Will you be able to make time for homework? Committing a sufficient amount of time to study will help you make the most out of the course and gain all the knowledge needed to start your tech career.     

If you are applying to a special scholarship program, you may need to pass an aptitude assessment or fill out additional application forms. This step is not required for Tech Talent South’s tuition-based courses. If both you and the Talent Success Advisor feel that the course is a good fit for you, the enrollment process will begin. 

It is vital to spend some time figuring out how much you can invest in your education. “Can you make a down payment? What is your budget for monthly installments? Do you need to wait to pay tuition until you land your next job? Knowing up front what can work for your budget will help our Talent Success Team find the best tuition payment plan for you,” Lachapelle emphasizes.

If you plan to pay the tuition fee directly to Tech Talent South, you can make your deposit for the course online. If you are interested in an Income Share Agreement, you will be referred to Tech Talent South’s partner organization to sign the necessary documentation. 

Once you are set up with your preferred financing option, Tech Talent South will enroll you in the course and send you the pre-course materials.

2. Get the Tech Training You Need

Tech Talent South offers foundational and advanced training programs in Web Development and Data Science. In response to the pandemic, classes are now conducted live online and led by experienced instructors. At Tech Talent South, you choose to study in the morning or evening based on your preferences.

During the training, you’ll build knowledge and skills that will allow you to enter the tech job market with confidence. “We offer immersive educational experiences that are built around the demands of today’s businesses.  Whether it’s engaging with young learners, recent college grads, or career-changers, we deliver crafted experiences and relevant, high-value content”, says Lachapelle.  

Among the top hard skills that Tech Talent South graduates possess include Java, JavaScript,, HTML5, CSS, SQL, Python, R, pair programming, cloud technologies, and more.    

Tech Talent South hires leading industry experts and senior technologists to design the curriculum and teach the most in-demand tech skills. “Our instructors are experienced technologists with a passion for teaching and developing tech talent,” says Lachapelle.

Among them is Gary Jackson, Data Science Fundamentals Instructor at Tech Talent South. 

Gary believes that teaching is the way of learning. “My whole philosophy is if you can’t teach it, you don’t know what you’re doing,” he says, adding that programmers must be able to articulate what they are trying to do. 

Instructors and teaching assistants ensure that Tech Talent South students develop a strong knowledge of the course curriculum. “I tell [students to] communicate first in the code to tell your future self what you’re writing or to tell future people who are going to be looking at the code [and] what it is. And then secondly, be able to communicate it to non-technical people. If you can tell your mom what you are working on and keep it in some simple forms, you’ve succeeded,’” Jackson shares. 

His teaching approach involves pairing a “math person” with a “creative person” so that they can come to an innovative way of solving problems, predicting trends, and, therefore, making a change. 

Students also get to engage with program managers, who provide students with professional development support. “They [program managers] host resume writing and LinkedIn workshops, arrange for guest speakers to visit the class, and host one-on-one coaching sessions with our students,” says Lachapelle.

3. Deploy: Start Your Career in Tech

During one-on-one sessions with the Tech Talent South team, students explore the roles they are most interested in, and, toward the end of the program, begin to apply to the relevant job openings with Tech Talent South and external career sites. 

“We recommend that students take an active approach in their job search while our team works simultaneously to identify opportunities in our partner network that may be a good fit for them,” says Lachapelle. 

Besides professional preparation, students need to overcome their psychological barriers to enter the tech job market. As Jackson notes, many graduates are intimidated to apply for tech jobs after the bootcamp. “Just go after it and jump in,” he advises. 

Graduates can also benefit from Tech Talent South’s partnerships with leading employers, workforce development, and universities. “We work with companies across the country, ranging in size from VC-backed startups and SMBs to global consulting firms and Fortune 500s,” says Lachapelle. 

Tech Talent South connects their grads within the hiring partners’ network keeping in mind each student’s skill level and career goals. Students also have an opportunity to apply to the openings on the Tech Talent South career page.

When a student is matched with a position, Tech Talent South contacts the student first to confirm their interest in the role before sharing their resume with the hiring manager. “If selected by the client, we introduce the student directly to the hiring manager. From there, they undergo the client’s screening process. Ultimately, the client decides who they would like to hire for a role,” Lachapelle adds. 

Common Career Paths for Tech Talent South Graduates

Below is an extensive list of the roles that Tech Talent South grads commonly land in the tech industry.

• Full Stack Developers. A full stack developer works both with backend and front end designing, developing, testing, and debugging the software. The average salary for an entry-level full stack developer is $58,040 while the average salary for an experienced full stack developer is $75,057. 

• IT Project Managers. A project manager is accountable for the project scope, team, resources, budget, and overall success. They play the main role in planning, executing, monitoring, and closing out projects. The salary of an entry-level IT project manager in the United States starts from $63,894 while those with over five years in the field average at $88,654.

• Business Analysts. A business analyst helps organizations improve their processes and system by conducting research and analysis to come up with solutions to business problems. An entry-level business analyst’s salary hovers at $60,055 and can go to as high as $90,431 if you’re a veteran analyst.

• Data Analysts. A data analyst works in many industries including business, finance, science, and government,  collecting and interpreting data to solve a particular problem. The salary of a data analyst starts from $35,000 and averages at $62,405, depending on years of experience.  

• Development Operations (DevOps) Engineers. A DevOps engineer builds and maintains infrastructure and tools to simplify the software development process. Entry-level DevOps engineers can pocket around $59,000, and more experienced engineers earning around $97,026.

• Front End Developers. A front end Developer works with the client-side of the software, ensuring website visitors’ easy interaction with the page. Entry-level front end developers earn around $45,500 while those who have over five years of experience earn a median salary of $76,093. 

• Quality Assurance (QA) Engineers. A QA engineer tests the software to prevent defects and ensure that the final product meets the quality standards. The salary of an entry-level QA engineer plays at $45,000 while those with more experience can earn $71,896.

• User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Engineers. A UX/UI engineer builds and designs the front end of the digital products following design principles. The salary of a UX/UI engineer can start at $60,000 and averages at $91,500, depending on experience. 

• Scrum Masters. A Scrum Master is responsible for making a software development team perform at the highest level by following the practices and values of the Scrum & Agile process framework. The average annual salary for an entry-level scrum master is $69,426.Those with more experience average at $101,182. 

• IT Support Technicians. An IT support technician is responsible for maintaining the organization’s computer networks, providing technical support to the users of these networks. The salary of an entry-level IT support technician starts from $31,000. The average salary for an IT support technician is $46,894.

Tech Talent South graduates have gone on to work at leading tech companies such as Google, Amazon, Cognizant, GAP, Accenture, Bank of America, The Hartford, Allstate, Red Hat, WebMD, Career Builder, Zipcar, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and many more. 

Start Your Tech Career with Tech Talent South

Tech Talent South offers immersive training programs in web development and data science to help tech aspirants build the skills needed to break into the industry. Its programs are designed with a focus on people, partnerships, and the community. 

With a diverse talent database and a wide network of hiring partners, Tech Talent South aims to reconcile both the skills and the diversity gaps in the tech industry. Get your start by applying to one of Tech Talent South’s courses.