How I got into tech: Thanh

My affinity towards the military started when I was a kid. Through my high school years, I voluntarily signed up for JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) for several years wondering if I had what it took to become the best version of myself. During my first semester at a local university in Silicon Valley, I was told that I didn’t meet a few requirements and it was not likely I would earn a scholarship. I was crushed by the news, I was disappointed that I didn’t meet these requirements. I was looking for ways I can improve. I wasn’t looking for a hand-out, or some freebie program. I wanted to push the envelope physically and mentally. School only pushed my mental toughness in scholastic matters. I didn’t know how to share my disappointment with anyone. Yes, even my parents did not know my disappointment. However, I was determined to take on this challenge. I took long walks to think things over, weighing the pros cons on a t-chart. Evaluating the benefits vs sacrifices. Soon after, I had to drop school to pursue the greatest challenge.

As I served in the military ranks with the finest citizens of this great country. I felt this overwhelming emotion that I have earned my way as an American, a Vietnamese-American. I know my transition would be difficult and I expected it. Anything that was worth anything long term needed some form of elbow grease. During my time in uniform, I managed to save up funds to live about a year. I have always been a saver, sometimes living a little less comfortably to prepare for a rainy day, in my case it was a years worth of savings so I can “figure it out”. As I transitioned out of the military, I knew I liked technology. I specifically enjoyed the challenges surrounding financial systems. But I also knew that I must makes ends meet. I had to support myself, I cannot go back to California with the high cost of living, even though my parents resided on an island suburb outside of San Francisco. Struggling to find that perfect position. I was working odd jobs to make ends meet.

Then I signed up for an IT program that was sponsored by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in Palo Alto next to Stanford University in California for a pilot program helping veterans transitioned into the IT industry. I came up of the program with my first official job working in the IT field a few months after. After about a year, I didn’t learn much more than I already knew so I continue to look for ways that I can be more useful for a company. Made a few calls to a my network and found out that someone had noticed my skills while I was still in uniform and invited me for coffee at Starbucks near Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, WA. I still remembered that day. It was sunny in Washington, I felt so defeated as I was slapping resumes together trying to implement every tip I have received from recruiters, hiring managers, and other people I have met in the Greater Seattle Area. So this friend is very discrete because he enjoys a quiet live, so I am going to refer to this individual as Steve. Steve mentioned that there will be an opening as a Financial Systems Instructor to help implement the largest conversion the US Army has ever seen in the last 30 years. I was super pumped when I heard that I had the opportunity to contribute to such a project. So after the conversation, I stayed at Starbucks a little longer to get my resume the “right way” and send it off. Three months later I was offered a position with at double the pay rate I have received at my current company at this time. In addition to working with a few old friends, knowingly I had the opportunity to travel to all 50 states to help with the pre/post deployment of the largest mission critical systems the US Army has implemented in the last 30 years. I immediately accepted the job offer.

Right before this contract was over, I was poached into another organization that was a few thousand miles away. After a few months, I realized I was being asked to do things outside the box. Being the person that I am with a stronghold on integrity, I refused many of these requests that lead me to leave earlier than expected. So, once again I was at square one. At this point, I realized how important certifications were and how my resume needed to be updated every quarter, every month if possible. At this time I was married with my wife that stayed by my side through my darkest days to my greatest accomplishments both personally and professionally. I was moving back to Washington after I realized that the cost of living anywhere in California will only hurt my chances of making ends meet. As I was driving back to California, I faced the emotions of defeat, of making the wrong decision. I dwell on these fog of emotions for a bit. My wife was by my side most of the way as I try to find a way out of this loop. Then she reminded me that I am strong, I needed to focus on moving forward. Eventually, I decided to move back to Washington and find odd jobs and sign up for contract work. Primarily I found that grubhub, doordash, and other courier related jobs were best suited for the money crunch I was experiencing.

During this time, I was approximately half way through my MBA. So I decided to continue my contract work in pursuit for a IT related training/course so I can solidify my skills. I haven’t been able to get passed the second interview. Flustered, I still didn’t give up. At this point I was determined to look for a coding bootcamp that the GI Bill was able to pay for. Found out that my GI Bill was already locked in my MBA program so I couldn’t do anything else until I finished my MBA. So close to completion, I wanted to drop it so I can muster through the coding bootcamp since several have promised “job placement” along with a hefty price tag. At this point, I felt hopeless. Trying everything I can to keep my head up high, trying to find that silver lining, standing ready to look for a positive sign that things will get better.

Then another IT program for veterans popped up. I finally got a chance to talk to this individual, I will call him Tim. Tim was the final approval of my induction to the IT program. Tim mentioned that he was in the Air Force, I know what you are thinking if you have worn a uniform before. But Tim was a hardcore American B@D@$$. Of course, I had similar aspirations but didn’t make it very far on my own trying my hand at training required for Ranger School or Special Forces. Anyways, so Tim was telling me how he would partner up with the state and other Veteran organizations to help veterans transition into the IT world through his knowledge of networking infrastructure technologies. Primarily with Cisco products, where he has had a little shy of two decades of experience. So at this point, I have found a little twinkle of hope that I can really latch onto. Since then I am enrolled, studying IT technologies and doing side gigs to make ends meet. I was thoroughly excited about Tim’s new program for Veterans to transition into IT. Because I used to work long hours to try to figure out Cisco routers/switches did. I primarily worked on financial systems and drafting ad-hoc reports for decision makers. Whether they were company grade officers or field grade officers. I made this contribution by aggregating the data set from various sources, formatting data (mostly financial data points), and summarizing the data in hopes that an actionable pattern will emerge.