Clayvis Learns to Code and Starts Coding at Amazon
Born in the Virgin Island and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Clayvis spent most of his adult life in the Marine Corps, “I was a satellite technician in the Marine Corp for almost 9 years. When it came time for me to transition out, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I had always had a passion for programming, and I actually had a good buddy who was about to go to Sabio at the time. He told me that it was a great program that worked very well with our veteran benefits, so I figured I should take a gamble. I took a bet on myself and it actually turned out to be a great fit.”
Even though he always enjoyed programming, Clayvis never imagined this path for himself, “I’m a huge nerd and I always had an interest in this type of thing, but I really never pictured this path. When I was young I would tinker with electronics, I had a computer I built from scratch too. I also used to destroy some of my siblings' toys, just so I could try and figure out how they worked and put them back together.
My friend who recommended Sabio to me had also served with me for 9 years. I trusted him, especially when he told me he had done extensive research on all different types of bootcamps and he was beyond solid about Sabio. We actually ended up in the same cohort and graduated in the same class, and now we work at Amazon together, it’s great.”
At Sabio, Clayvis felt he was getting a taste of his future, “While I was there, it really made me feel like this could be my day-today, like this is what I would expect life to be like on the job. It did a great preparation for all of us to transition to the job market. I’m an adult and I have other responsibilities to take care of outside of the bootcamp, but Sabio was really great at laying out everything you need to get done for that day, and how you do it is on you. They give you the resources to go, and I think that’s a great learning model, because it’s just like what the civilian world is like when you start a new job. They teach you to be extremely resourceful which I like. Sabio also does a great job of preparing you for stand-ups, which I do at my job now. Bottom line, they gave us a good model for real world application of our skills. I think it’s a great way to go forward in training people to get into the software/dev field.
With the pandemic, Clayvis attended Sabio remote but still made some great friends, “We used slack and various other forms of communication. I mean you’re there with these guys for 17 weeks, you can’t help but build a bond and really care about your cohort mates. The instructors also were very knowledgeable, smart guys. They’re really funny, Brijesh especially. When I went to him with an issue, instead of him just telling me the answer, he would give me resources and steer me in the right direction, and I got to learn how to get there myself. It was very insightful.
Now a software development engineer at Amazon, Claybis loves being a programmer, “I’m actually on their paid apprenticeship program. I had my initial interview just two weeks after graduating and found out just two weeks after that I had been accepted. My transition from Sabio to the job market was extremely quick. Right now I’m in the middle of the first 6-months where you’re with an instructor and just learning everything that Amazon wants you to know. Then we join our teams in a more official capacity. Not to be braggadocious, but as far as all my peers who come from different bootcamps, we’ve noticed that Sabio graduates are actually ahead in the class, sometimes even leading the class. Prior to Sabio I had very little programming knowledge and now I’m at a point where I’m the lead and it feels like I’m a senior guy. It’s very surreal to be in this position right now. Sabio went very in detail about what to expect from a job, and so now when I’m getting new things, they’re all pretty familiar because I’ve done them before. I feel very comfortable being challenged and learning, because I know I can figure out anything they throw at me, thanks to what I learned at Sabio. I think the transition when I get picked up is going to be very smooth.”
Clayvis also appreciated how accommodating Sabio was to him as a veteran, “Sabio’s co-founder Liliana Monge is always on top of making sure that everyone is taken care of. I always see her posting jobs in the veteran chat and she’s constantly dropping information on veteran resources. You’d be surprised how many vets don’t know about their benefits. She does a really good job of making sure you take advantage of your benefits to maximize your learning.
With his career just beginning, Clayvis can’t wait for the future, “My next immediate goal is to get picked up full time with Amazon and see where that journey takes me. Eventually, I do want to open my own business and be an entrepreneur using my background I’m doing now. I just want to continue coding and getting better in my craft. When you’re in the marine’s, you’re working very long laborious, regimented hours. At Sabio, I got the freedom to build my own schedule and now I also have that in my job. My work/life balance has improved like 100%, and my salary has increased dramatically. It’s crazy how much better my life is because of Sabio.”
For those interested in learning to code, Clayvis says, “Stick with it. Learning it can be very tedious and overwhelming. You should really take that gamble on yourself though and just do it. If you’re thinking about it, even just a little bit, I say pull the trigger. You’ll reap endless benefits whether you go into the software development field or you just stay in tech. Sabio has cultivated this amazing culture. It’s so much more than a bootcamp, it’s a network. Now as an alumnus, I have a lot of cohort people reaching out to me, and it’s great to be able to help them out. I feel like I’m part of a family, and that has really translated to my job at Amazon. They have given us military folks great tools and aid while transitioning to the world of tech. I’m incredibly grateful to Sabio for getting me to where I am now.”
Related Links:
Want to learn more about Sabio? Attend an info session where you will have the opportunity to ask questions Sign up here: bit.ly/sabio-info-session
Ready to start coding? Free coding classes available to get you started: bit.ly/sabio-intro-classes