From Massage Therapy to Software Testing

Meet Mckenna Swan

Before joining our Software QA Program, Mckenna Swan was a licensed massage therapist whose business was affected by COVID-19. She then briefly worked at a call center before deciding to pursue a career in tech. Here’s how she landed a job as a Software Testing Analyst at PURPLE.

What were you doing before Devmountain?

I was a licensed massage therapist. I do still have my license, I just don’t do massage as a career anymore. When covid hit, I lost all my clients and started working at a call center at home to be able to provide for my family.

Why did you want to learn to code and what made you choose Devmountain?

I have a family member that is in the software field and they recommended that I get into it, with it being a growing industry. And I needed a way that I could stay at home to be with my kids and still make good money, and get out of my dead-end call center job.

I heard great things about this school from family members that either looked into it or work in the field already, and talked about how good the school is.

What was your experience at coding bootcamp?

It was hard coming from no computer background, but my instructor and classmates helped make the transition better! Everyone there made it easy to reach out if I was struggling!

How’d you land your current role and do you have any tips?

I found my new role on LinkedIn. I would apply to jobs EVERY SINGLE DAY. I didn’t look at the “experience level” they were recommending. If it was a software QA position, I applied for it. I graduated at the end of August and I got my job on October 11th, so a couple of months went by before I landed my new job. 

I recommend reaching out to companies, attending every job fair you can, and just applying to a job even if you “feel” you don’t have the qualifications for it. You never know what’s going to happen. The worst thing that can come from applying to a job is they don’t call you back. They might have other positions open that you didn’t see, or that they are about to post that you might be perfect for, so just go for it! I would also add people in your field on LinkedIn. I added people in the software field every day to boost up my connections! 

Do you have any advice for future Devmountain students?

Don’t let the imposter syndrome get to you. Trust your gut. And even if you don’t land a job right away, don’t get discouraged. It will happen, just keep pushing and applying!

Want to learn software testing skills like Mckenna? Check out our part-time, 12-week Software QA Course.

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