Career Development Category Archives - General Assembly Blog | Page 6

Rising in the Ranks: How One Military Spouse Unlocked Career Mobility From the Homefront

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It was 2021, and Michelle Artreche was working at an edtech startup in a marketing role. Although she had a passion for the discipline, she wanted formal training. Michelle wanted a stronger educational foundation so she could take her career to the next level, though she wasn’t sure where to start.

As a military spouse, potential relocation was a fact of life—which meant enrolling in a traditional in-person training program wasn’t really a viable solution. She needed a flexible, career-focused program that could fit her life.

Through a connection on LinkedIn, Michelle heard about The Adecco Group U.S. Foundation Service Scholarship, which awards scholarships to women veterans and military spouses that can be used for courses offered through General Assembly (GA). She took the initiative to apply, landed an award for GA’s Digital Marketing course, and began a new chapter in her tech career story.

Michelle has parlayed her newfound skills into a role where she’s tripled her income—and continues to grow in a career she’s passionate about. She is an incredible example representing the military/spouse community and showing continuous growth as a professional in her field. Read the following interview to learn more about her journey. 

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NOW’S THE TIME: TAKE YOUR SHOT

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Still waiting for the “perfect time” to take the next step toward your dream career? 

If you’ve caught us on instagram recently, you may have noticed our take on March Madness – or as we’re calling it, March Radness. Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll be dropping some exciting content and giveaways, and it all starts today. We’re offering a limited-time discount to take your shot and score $500 off an immersive bootcamp* for US residents.

The “perfect time” for a career change may never come, but we think now sounds pretty good, don’t you?

TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER:

  1. Find your immersive bootcamp
  2. Complete your application
  3. Jump on a call with our admissions team by April 3, 2023
  4. Make sure to mention that you’re “taking your shot” to activate the discount
  5. Enroll and start your course by June 30th, 2023.

Don’t forget to ask admissions about all of our financing options to ensure the Take Your Shot discount is the best one for you. We look forward to helping you through the next phase of your career. 

*Terms and Conditions

  1. Students must be 18 years or older.
  2. Discount eligible for legal residents of the United States only. 
  3. New York residents or students attending live at the NYC campus are not eligible for the discount. 
  4. Discount is applicable only for full-time immersive courses. Part-time courses, On Demand learning or paid workshops, are not eligible for the discount. 
  5. The discount can only be used on one immersive course. 
  6. The discount is not available for those already enrolled in an immersive course, and cannot be applied retroactively.
  7. Prospective students must complete their application and admissions interview by April 3rd, 2023 to be eligible for the discount. 
  8. Prospective students must start their immersive course by June 30th, 2023.
  9. Discount may not be applied to non-refundable registration fee. 

Meet Your Match: Breaking Into the Hospitality Industry in a Tech Role

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Novel sights. Magnificent cultures. Unexplored tastes. If you feel you live your best life on vacation, a career in the hospitality industry could provide the flexibility and travel perks you crave—and help you see more of the world sooner rather than later. There is no better environment for a sociable “people person” to make a memorable impact on the lives of countless guests and patrons day after day.  

When we think of hospitality, we may think of a front desk hotel concierge, wait staff, or theme park attendant. But the hospitality industry has become increasingly saturated with job postings for software engineers, data analysts, data scientists, and UX designers amid the digital transformation that’s taken place across all industries over the last decade. 

Take the story of Peter Cho, for instance: he made the move from line cook to software engineer after his restaurant shut down during the COVID-19 crisis. Though he didn’t have a college degree, a four-month software engineering bootcamp taught him how to code and break into a six-figure salary with better security, ambiance, and work/life balance. 

“I’ll never go back to restaurant work because my quality of life is so much better now,” Cho has said. “While I feel challenged at my current job, it feels healthy and more enjoyable, stemming from puzzle-solving rather than being yelled at in a kitchen.” Best of all, he no longer has to worry about job security or work 60 hours to make ends meet.

Continue reading to learn which changes have made hospitality a “tech industry,” and what emerging trends promise plenty of tech work in hospitality for decades to come. 

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Chart Your Course: Which General Assembly Class Is Right for You?

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Whether you’re making the leap into a career change, or leveling up your current skill set to land that next promotion, you might be wondering if an online coding bootcamp is right for you. The good news is that General Assembly offers a range of beginner-friendly class formats (from full-time immersives to flexible, part-time schedules), and we have a course that will fit your specific career path and interests. 

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ChatGPT: A Tool, Not an Enemy for Tech Jobs

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Have you tried ChatGPT yet?

Open AI’s latest chatbot is gaining people’s attention globally for its human-like responses and sophisticated capabilities. From writing stories and workout plans to essays, code, and more — at first use, it seems like there’s nothing ChatGPT can’t do. 

But what exactly is ChatGPT? And, more importantly, why should you care? 

ChatGPT is a natural language processing software that launched in December 2022. It’s a chatbot that answers your questions in real-time based on a huge pool of internet data and other sources. 

As natural language processing software becomes increasingly prevalent in life and at work, it will impact the way we operate. While you don’t need to worry about AI robots taking over any time soon, you do need to stay on top of these tech advancements and adapt as needed. 

With a proper understanding of their capabilities, AI tools won’t be a threat to you. They’ll be an aid. In this article, we’ll explore why ChatGPT is a helpful tool for people working in tech, how it can enhance productivity, and the soft skills that are more important than ever. 

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Top 5 Industries Hiring UX Designers: Where to Find Your Next Career Opportunity

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There are two narratives dominating hiring right now. The first (and much louder) narrative is that tech workers are being laid off right and left. From the headlines, it’s easy to assume that new designers can’t compete for the few UX design jobs that exist.

The quieter discourse is that the labor market is stable, and growing at a healthy (albeit slower) pace. Let’s look at what the evidence says.

If you’re looking for entry-level UX designer jobs, there are lots of reasons for optimism. However, look beyond tech and software companies to deepen your pool of potential employers. Companies in diverse industries are hiring UX designers and you might miss out on your dream job if you only look at tech startups.

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Career Tarotscopes for March 2023

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Rebecca Szymczak, aka Cardsy B, author of The Saturn Diaries and tarot reader to the stars, consulted her cards and has tips for which signs should dream bigger than ever with the deep waters of Pisces and which signs should use this month’s full moon in Virgo to get their feet back on the ground. She also has some insight into career shifts coming in where you may least expect them. 

As we enter March, Pisces season is already bringing multiple waves of change our way. If the end of February felt emotional and maybe even a little anxiety-ridden, more tools are now showing up as Saturn enters Pisces on March 7th. Saturn brings tangible, how-to steps to help us move forward with dreams we felt drawn to explore at the end of last month. On the same day, we have the full moon in Virgo wrapping up a six-month cycle from August 2022 to the present. This powerful moon provides additional inspiration and discipline to move forward with desired initiatives in a more grounded manner. The end of the month also welcomes the spring equinox on March 20th, allowing us to receive more light – physically and figuratively- as we move into spring.

Whatever your sign, there are plenty of opportunities — plus a few temptations to watch out for this month, so read on to see what the cards have in store.

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UX, Visual, or Product: Which Type of Design Is Right for You?

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Design plays a crucial role in the success of any company’s marketing and sales strategies. People spend a significant amount of time online, around six hours and 57 minutes per day, consuming online content. To capture their attention, companies must create visually appealing and user-friendly websites and products.

Due to this demand, there is a high need for UX, Visual, and Product designers. These creative tech careers have been consistently named as some of the most sought-after jobs in the tech industry by renowned companies like Forbes and Medium.

This article aims to explain the differences between UX, Visual, and Product Design to help you choose the right design career.

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Meet Your Match: Breaking Into the Healthcare Industry in a Tech Role

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Across industries, the ability to work faster, cheaper, and without flaw is greatly enhanced by technology—yet, in the healthcare industry, these improvements mean the difference between life and death for billions of patients worldwide. So if you’re keen to make an impact in the lives of individuals—and willing to pick up a few tech skills to make it happen—the healthcare industry is happy to have you.

Just as quickly as big tech companies let workers go, places like Highmark Health scooped them up, adding 4,962 tech workers last March alone. More recently, health insurance company Humana posted 4,951 jobs, while Elevance Health sought to fill 1,751 open positions. UnitedHealth has added 10,000 new roles to their fleet of 36,000 tech workers over the last three years. And these are just a few examples of the many healthcare employers ready to take a big, bold leap with tech.

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Meet Your Match: Breaking Into the Retail Industry in a Tech Role

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Do you love retail therapy? How about the idea of a career that puts you on the leading edge of new product launches—ones that improve lives daily? If you dream of working in retail or ecommerce, a tech role might be the best way to break into the business, as retail is a top 6 employer of tech talent.

The blanket term “retail” encompasses any business that directly sells consumer goods. Retailers can include e-commerce sales that take place across the web, as well as brick-and-mortar stores like supermarkets, department stores, or specialty mom-and-pop shops. Household goods, appliances, fashion apparel, beauty products, toys, entertainment like video games—these subsets are all part of a $30.3 trillion global industry.

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