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Meet Isma: From a Microbiology Lab Tech to a Front-end Developer

Meet Isma: From a microbiology lab tech to a front-end developer

What happens when someone believes in you? At Dev10, it can lead to a rewarding career as a Software Engineer.

That was the case for Isma Azam who attributes a big part of her success to Corbin March and Dillon Tuck, the instructors at Dev10 who led her through an intense three months of software training.

She described March and Tuck as “extremely emotionally intelligent,” and available to the Associates – including on nights and weekends – whenever there were questions. But more importantly, she said, her instructors had faith in her abilities, even when she couldn’t find that faith within herself.

“Anytime there was a little bit of, ‘Oh man, this is hard. I don’t know if I can get through this,’ I didn’t even have to have the confidence in myself. They had the confidence in me and that gave me the confidence that I needed,” she said, adding that the instructors were “really rooting” for her.

From Science to Software

Isma graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in biology. Late into her college career she started exploring the idea of becoming an orthodontist, but didn’t quite have the passion. She eventually landed a job in a microbiology lab, and loved the work, but didn’t see a clear path for advancement. Her co-workers said that moving up to better assignments would take time, and lots of it.

“That’s not what I wanted,” she said. “I wanted something where there was a lot of growth opportunity.”

Isma’s father had always encouraged her to pursue a career in technology, so she began looking at various coding bootcamps and master’s programs in computer science. She attended an information session for a Dev10 competitor and was left feeling uneasy, like they weren’t being transparent about how the training and job placement worked. With Dev10, her experience was the complete opposite.

“With Dev10, they were telling you stuff before people asked the questions,” she said, adding that she left that information session feeling, “I have to do this right now. I don’t want to wait.”

Tickets and Upgrades

After her three months of training, Isma was matched with a client and began her two years of project work as a Dev10 Associate.

Her current assignment is working as a front-end developer for an international hotel chain, focused on the customer rewards program. Her typical day starts with a stand-up meeting with her team and then she works on her assigned task, which recently included upgrading style elements to Tailwind CSS.

“Even though it’s kind of independent, I have a lot of resources and a lot of people that I work with and work through,” she said.

She also has the support of a Dev10 Delivery Director, whose job it is to check in regularly with each Associate, mentor them, arrange for additional training when needed, or simply be a sounding board when the job gets stressful. In Isma’s case, Delivery Director Holli Calloway has been an amazing resource, particularly when her project work first began and some pangs of self-doubt began to creep in.

“She’s always available. She’s always responsive,” Isma said of Holli.

Overall, Isma sees a bright career ahead as a Software Engineer with lots of career options.

“That’s really the game changer for me,” she said. “I’m not just going to be doing this same thing forever.”

She offers the following advice for anyone thinking about a career as a Software Developer: “If you’re interested in coding…I don’t think that [Dev10] could fail you,” she said.

 

Watch Isma's Video


Click on the questions below to hear Isma's answers

Q: Why did you apply to Dev10? Q: What is your advice for people considering Dev10?
Q: How would you describe your instructors? Q: What support does Dev10 provide during a client assignment?