Lili Rodriguez had almost forgotten how much she enjoyed working with technology. 

For nearly three years she worked as a market research analyst, helping a Brazilian fitness startup expand its footprint in the United States. The job mostly consisted of sales support and Excel spreadsheets, but it eventually grew to include some work with SQL and Python programming languages. 

“I started to remember just how much I enjoyed coding and programming,” she says. “And I realized how much I still wanted to pursue a job in tech.”

Lili had given up on a tech career years earlier. While studying economics in college, she took a few programming classes and immediately fell in love, but there were few resources at her school to help her explore her new interest any further. The college did not offer a computer science program, and—as a first-generation college student and a Latina woman—there were few people in her social and educational circles she could turn to for advice. 

She had grown used to being in the minority at her predominantly white institution, she recalls, but in many ways, the technology field seemed even worse.

“I felt like an outsider,” she says.

Lili reached out to a few alumni who had managed to land tech careers for advice, and she secured a couple job interviews based on her limited coding experience. But she was not prepared for the technical interviews and other aspects of the job search. Lacking the right support, resources and mentors—and desperately needing a paying job—she decided to put her dreams on hold. 

Several years later, Lili rediscovered her passion for technology—and she wasn’t going to lose it a second time. She read about Flatiron School and knew it sounded like a great fit, but she was worried about how she would pay for it. Fortunately, she was awarded a Cognizant NexTech scholarship. Enrolling in Flatiron’s computer software engineering program, Lili was excited to finally be on a path toward a job in tech. She was also overwhelmed. 

Lili started the program right as the Covid-19 pandemic was shutting down much of the country. Leaving her stable job to learn complicated software engineering concepts remotely amid a global health and economic crisis was a difficult and nerve-wracking experience. 

“At first, it really did feel like drinking water out of a fire hydrant,” she says. “There was just so, so much to learn.”

As the days went on, Lili grew used to the flow and pace. She learned to adjust to the challenges of online learning. And, this time, she had help and support. She was learning from instructors and coaches that cared about her success. She had peers in her cohort that were supportive of one another and honest about their own challenges. And—importantly—she did not feel like an outsider. 

Many of her peers were women. Her coach was Latino, and two of her instructors were women. 

“I wasn’t in the minority,” Lili says. “I could be myself. I could ask questions and not worry about feeling dumb. Everyone in my cohort was vulnerable and open and just trying to learn and grow together. It felt good.”

Lili has since finished the program and is now working as a software engineer at Everlywell, a start-up that offers at-home health testing. She loves her work, her boss and her co-workers—and she’s making significantly more money than in her previous career. At times, Lili says it still feels surreal that someone is finally paying her to do something she loves. 

“Last year, I felt so much anxiety and doubt,” she says. “I really wondered if I could do this. But now I am much more confident. Attending Flatiron and having such a supportive experience—it was the best thing that could happen to me.”