Transitioning from the military is one of the most difficult things I’ve done, and I’ve put myself through some grueling crucibles. From the time I was six years old, I’d always known exactly what I wanted and how I was going to achieve my goals. I wanted to be an infantry officer, lead soldiers in combat, and ultimately become a Special Forces team leader. Admittingly, I never thought beyond that. Eight years of service, an extended stay at Army Ranger School, Special Forces training, and three deployments later I’d already accomplished everything I’d set out to do. Now what? I’m only 30 years old.

Recruiting agencies wanted to place me in an operations or project manager position because it’s a very smooth transition due to my leadership background. I’d already excelled doing that so why would I want to take a pay cut to do it at a lower level? As a Special Forces officer, my job was to connect with people, demonstrate value, solve problems and deliver for stakeholders and set the conditions for those around me to be successful.  I’ve always considered myself a servant leader and treated my soldiers as if they were customers. I wanted them to be successful while having an enjoyable experience. Additionally, I’m competitive, goal-oriented, and want to be rewarded for my performance. A future career in sales was an obvious path for me based on what I love to do and because I’d be able to leverage my greatest attributes.

Due to family reasons, I took a comfortable job in the Oil & Gas industry which helped transitioning veterans acquire skills to become future leaders of the company. It only took about six weeks of sitting in a cubicle to know that this wasn’t my future. I knew it wasn’t for me, but once again, family reasons. Exactly one year prior I was working alone in an African country executing my own plan, holding myself accountable, responsible for my own actions, and I had only myself to blame if I didn’t deliver. About ten people knew who I was, where I was, and what I was doing, but I knew I was going to crush the task at hand.

I’ve always known what I wanted, and at that moment sitting in the cubicle, I wanted an immediate change. After looking at sales openings I realized that almost every job required up to 10 years of experience, and then I remembered Tech Qualled had reached out to me nine months prior, but I just didn’t know what they were selling at the time. After consulting with several colleagues who had graduated from the program, I contacted Justin Ossola and immediately started the application process.

The program exceeded my expectations. You will learn the sales process, know enough about the IT industry to be dangerous and you will get an incredibly rewarding job. Additionally, you will be confident, competent, and eager to compete immediately upon graduation. The staff is incredibly passionate about your success, and you will never find a transition agency more invested in your success than Tech Qualled. They took a chance on me since I was restricted to Houston, and they delivered.  I landed a dream job just three weeks upon graduation, a Global Account Manager position with Checkpoint Software Technologies.

With this role, I’ll have the fast-paced, stressful, and financially rewarding lifestyle that I need. If you are self-motivated, goal-oriented, love interacting with others, and want to earn what you deserve then I’d insist you look into what Tech Qualled has to offer. I completed Tech Qualled while working full-time, earning my MBA on the weekends and all while taking care of two toddlers because I knew it would be worth it; I couldn’t have been more right. Completing Tech Qualled was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made; I frequently recommend it to almost every veteran who reaches out to me that I believe could thrive in tech sales.