On September 27th, 2019, Alexa Woloszuk graduated from Juno’s Web Development Bootcamp. Using an Income Share Agreement, (the first of its kind available at a Canadian school) Alexa had paid just $1 upfront. Today, Alexa has already been working as a Front-End Developer for two months, making nearly three times what she was making before coming to Juno.
I feel very blessed to achieve the dream job I’ve wanted for a long time with an incredible support system that is the Juno community. I would have never been able to get here as fast as I did without the ISA. It makes me happy to know more individuals can achieve their goals without finances standing in the way of that.
It was during her undergrad at Wilfrid Laurier University that Alexa first discovered her love of code. Her brother, a developer himself, introduced her to the world of web development, suggesting she try a free online resource first so that she could start learning on her own to test the waters. It was then that she wrote her first line of code and fell in love with the problem solving and challenges involved in web development.
“Coding wasn’t something that came easy to me, but I knew I enjoyed doing it and how amazing it felt to solve problems with code. I did not give up, even after failing my first Introduction to Programming class at Laurier.”
Even after what could be considered a rocky start to coding at Laurier, Alexa kept working hard - going on to study web development in a post-grad program at Sheridan College. Unfortunately, though she learned the foundational concepts of web development, she graduated without the hands-on skills she needed to get a job in that field.
At the time, like many millennials working to pay their way through school, Alexa was a server at a local pub. Though the job had financed her education, she knew she didn't want to do that forever and that she’d have to do something to level-up her skills before being ready to become full-time developer.
I never wanted to be a server long-term. It was a job intended to just get me through my formal education. I always wanted to become a developer after my undergrad. I studied Web Design and Development, but my post-grad program did not give me enough to attain a position as a developer. I knew I needed something more to solidify my skills.
Luckily, though the coding skills Alexa had so far weren’t enough to get a job as a developer, they were enough to make her an excellent candidate for Juno’s Bootcamp, and she was accepted into our Summer 2019 cohort.
“I chose Juno over other learning options because I wanted to be working in an environment surrounded by goal-oriented individuals that shared the same passion. The inclusive, uplifting, and supportive culture of Juno put it above all the other Bootcamps in making my decision.”
Unlike many traditional educational programs, Juno’s Web Development Immersive Bootcamp goes beyond theory and concepts, teaching students the hands on coding skills they need to get a job as a web developer. Through real-world projects, team collaboration, regular codealongs, portfolio creation, and continued career support even after graduation, Juno’s Bootcamp has a graduation rate of 100%, an in-field employment rate of 88.3% by six months after graduation, and an average graduate starting salary of $56,000 based on Juno's latest CIRR report.
Though Bootcamp students have the option to pay their full tuition upfront if finances allow, Alexa chose to use an Income Share Agreement after spending so much on her education at Laurier and Sheridan.
The reality is, I had invested a lot of time and money into my formal education. I was not in any financial position to be able to afford going back to school again. Juno was one of the only bootcamps to provide financial aid such as the ISA, which gave me the opportunity to improve my skills. If Juno had not had the Income Share Agreement as an option, I would not have been able to go. I had no other option for any financial assistance and it would have prevented me from starting my career as a developer.
After 9 weeks of full-time learning and hard work, Alexa graduated from Bootcamp in late September. After another few weeks of dedicated job hunting, she was thrilled to start her first job as a Front-End Developer at Sherpa. As a server, Alexa was making $12.20 hourly, which works out to just over $24,000 a year. In her first role as a developer, her starting salary is nearly three times that amount.
In her day-to-day work as a developer, Alexa is passionate about the projects she’s responsible for, and finds reward in seeing the changes she implements first hand. Like many graduates of Juno's Bootcamp, her new salary is exciting, but the real reward is getting to work in a role she loves.
“I see the value I bring to the company and it makes me feel like I’m truly making a difference with the work I get to do. I’ve learnt a new framework alongside a bunch of new front end tools and it’s just the beginning. What I value most about this line of work is the constant learning that is involved. I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity to work for an amazing company with an even more amazing team.”
Ultimately for Alexa, launching a career as a Web Developer was something she knew she wanted since she wrote her first line of code online. Through her struggles in traditional education to the hard work required to succeed in Bootcamp, she never gave up. It wasn’t until she found Juno that she had the tools, support, and financing options she needed to make her dreams a reality.
From the moment I got accepted, during the moments of frustration and fear of not succeeding, the Juno community always expressed how much they believed in me. I didn’t understand why until now. Thank you for the support, the tools to improve, and for believing I could achieve this dream of mine. I wouldn’t be here without the help of Juno.
Ready to learn more about Income Share Agreements?
Find out more about our financing options here, or book a call to speak to a member of our Student Success Team to see if making a career change with an ISA is right for you.