In the military, there are several things that are critical to a successful mission: you need a plan, a team, resources, rehearsals, and plan B’s. If you go into a mission without these key factors, you set yourself up for failure. I found the same to be true for my transition out of the military. I had a plan of transitioning into a civilian career, but not necessarily the team or resources, which is where Tech Qualled came in. If it were not for TQ, I would be struggling to complete a successful mission and most certainly wouldn’t have a career at Nutanix.
Transition:
I began planning my transition 9 months prior to my End of Obligated Service date. A big part of this was figuring out what “bridge” I needed in order to get to where I wanted to be. With a young family, going back to school was not a viable option.
After attending the Transition Readiness Seminar (TRS), 7 months prior to EOS and leveraging my network, things started to take shape. One of the most important things I did during the planning stage was to list my priorities:
- Geographic Location
- Salary
- Work/Life Balance
- Industry
Defining these categories helped clarify things immensely. After reviewing my plan and priorities, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to have great work/life balance in the technology industry, a competitive salary, in a medium to large city, with a mild climate. Yes, it was extremely specific, but I was on a mission!
Enter Tech Qualled:
Eight months prior to my EOS, a recruiter from Tech Qualled reached out to me via LinkedIn. At the time, I was still looking at the technology industry but focused on an operations or logistics position. I quickly replied to the recruiter “Thanks, but I’m not interested at this time.”
After attending TRS, I spoke to numerous people in my network about mid-level positions at the technology companies I was interested in. It didn’t take me long to realize that I would need a substantial bridge to accomplish this mission. From what I had gathered, I had three options:
- An advanced degree
- An internship
- Entry level role and rapid promotion
Frankly, none of these options were appealing, and I was not about to give up on my plan/goals. I quickly began looking at other ways to break into the industry. Tech Qualled kept coming to mind, so I set out to speak with several alumni about what Launchpad Academy is actually like. I began to realize that Tech Qualled really does bridge the gap for transitioning veterans, and was stunned that I would have an opportunity to enter the technology industry at no additional cost, while also having senior level training. I immediately reached back out to the recruiter and asked to be considered for the Fall cohort. Thankfully, they allowed me to begin the interview process, and I was accepted into the program shortly after.
Launchpad Academy:
During the seven weeks of Launchpad Academy, I had the opportunity to dive in deep and learn about the tech sales industry. The courses were interactive, fun, and very educational. The practical applications, exercises and videos combined to make it an extremely worthwhile experience. However, I would say the information and processes really cemented for me during Week 6-Virtual Bootcamp and culminated during the live Bootcamp in Ft. Worth, TX. It truly was an incredible opportunity to cement relationships, share knowledge, and learn from success and failure in a fun environment.
Transition to Nutanix
During the placement, ownership of the process is key. Tech Qualled was the bridge that enabled me to have a conversation with multiple Tech companies. Learning how to leverage my past experiences and the soft skills generated, while combining them with the training, coaching, and partners Tech Qualled brought to the table was the key.
I accepted an offer with Nutanix on December 3rd (2 weeks prior to EOS) and started on January 7th. Looking at what my priorities were (Work/Life balance, Salary, Industry, Geographic Location) I am thrilled to say, it was a mission accomplished.
Thank you Tech Qualled for bridging the gap!
Gary lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife, and son. Previously, he was a United States Marine Corp Officer and Osprey Pilot active from 2008-2018. Having graduated from Tech Qualled’s Cohort 13, Gary is now an Account Executive at Nutanix.
About Nutanix: Nutanix is a cloud computing software company that sells what it calls hyper-converged infrastructure appliances and software-defined storage. Nutanix Enterprise Cloud combines the agility and simplicity of the public cloud, with the security and control you need in a private cloud. Built on the industry’s leading hyperconverged infrastructure(HCI) technology, it integrates compute, storage, virtualization, and networking in a full-stack solution that runs nearly any application.