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Blog Category: Alumni

From Lab Science to Data Science: How Umair Khakoo’s Problem-Solving Mindset Helped Him Get Ahead in the Tech Industry

You can’t always tell how one life experience will prepare you for the next. Back in college, Umair Khakoo loved experimenting in the laboratory as a chemistry major. What he didn’t realize was just how valuable the problem-solving mindset he developed during his undergraduate years would eventually become in an entirely new setting: the technology industry.  The…

Why Employers Are Drawn to Online Boot Camp Learners

Student learning at home

Many of today’s leading employers are beginning to embrace new models of education, including online learning. As a result, we see a number of employers hiring online boot camp s due to their work ethic and combination of hard skills (technical knowledge) and soft skills (adaptability, collaboration, creativity, etc.). Because of the fast-paced nature of…

10 Effective Job Search Strategies

Charles Gedeon

After selling the tech start-up he co-founded, Charles Gedeon wondered what to tackle next. While handling operations at his company, he’d always been fascinated by the work done by the coders on his team, so that seemed like a good place to start.  “That whole process pulled me in,” Charles said. “So I started dabbling…

Combining Teaching and Coding: Robert Deckard’s Journey from Principal of Inmates to Software Engineer

Robert Deckard

When he was directing the educational program at a Texas correctional center, Robert Deckard assumed he had the perfect job for himself: one that benefited society and utilized a major professional talent—teaching. Then one day—after thinking about a world going quickly digital—Bob googled online computer science degrees. He browsed through dozens of courses and noticed that many…

5 Weeks In: Wenbin Zhao’s Thoughts

Wenbin Zhao Group Picture

About five and a half weeks ago, I posted my first thought on starting at the Data Analytics and Visualization Boot Camp at Texas McCombs. It generated a lot of interest, and I often get questions from my cohorts and colleagues about what I’ve learned and how I feel about the program. Now that we…