From Boeing to Coding—One Student’s Success Story
As an accomplished systems engineer for Boeing, Susan Boyland hadn’t planned on switching careers. But a work assignment involving creating a website for her team changed all of that. She discovered a talent and interest in website development and decided to take her self-taught skills to the next level.
Boyland enrolled in UC Davis Extension’s online Web Development Certificate Program and completed the coursework while juggling a busy professional and personal life.
“I liked the flexibility that the program offered due to its online format and soft deadlines,” Boyland said. “The program was very comprehensive and covered a wide range of skills needed to be successful in the web/IT industry. Most other programs I looked at only focused on one aspect or language, so I really liked that each class within the UC Davis Extension program covered a different language or web development aspect. I also really like how the AJAX class at the end combined everything that was learned in prior classes.”
Armed with a new portfolio of web development skills (and a healthy dose of optimism), Boyland began her IT- industry job search.
“The biggest challenge was definitely job hunting because of the level of experience most web development jobs require and the fact that it was a complete career change for me,” she said. “Thankfully, because of the certificate program’s comprehensive course load, I was able to land a job in the web development industry, which was my ultimate goal!”