Sisters on a Tech Journey: From Classroom to Career with Tech901

Life is easier when you’re close to someone on a parallel path to your own. And who better than your sister?

Tsega Sneed was looking to break into the supply chain industry and began exploring ways to get a foot in the door.

“I was studying Supply Chain Management at the University of Memphis when I found a flyer for Tech901 and held onto it,” Tsega said. “I wanted to get into data-driven work, writing scripts, manipulating dashboards, etc.”

Tsega held off from enrolling, instead focusing on balancing her hectic work and school schedule. However, she shared our program with her sister, Juliette, who was studying Agribusiness at LSU.

Though still in school, Juliette decided to take our Foundations course over a summer break.

“I enjoyed it because it was something new,” Juliette said. “It was much different than just more coursework and was very affordable.”

After her positive experience, she encouraged Tsega to make time for Foundations. 

Ready to break up the lecture monotony that can crop up in collegiate studies, Tsega enjoyed a chance at some hands-on work as a part of the Foundations class.

“Classes that are just lecturing aren’t for me,” Tsega said. “I loved getting to deal with the motherboard, take it apart, put it back together, and just the overall hands-on aspect of the class.” 

From there, Tsega enrolled in a co-op program at the University of Memphis, which led her to an entry-level IT-adjacent role. While working this job, Tsega enrolled in our IT Networking course to hone her skills and increase her efficiency.

With each passing class meeting, she felt the teachings immediately applicable.

“I remember the IT guy training me would go over things with us and I would pick up on it quickly because we had just covered it in the Networking class,” Tsega said. “Even though I wasn't in tech fully, it was good to have that knowledge still.”

While Tsega grew her career, Juliette continued in the Agribusiness space. For many years, tech was just something she was interested in on the side. 

But after graduating and working in the Agribusiness space for a few years, she felt a tug back to tech.

“I just started becoming more interested in Agriculture Technology (AG Tech),” Juliette said. “When I looked back at Tech901 and saw their Web Programming, Coding, and Analytics courses, I was like, ‘Well, I probably need to take these!’”

After testing the waters at Tech901 individually, the Sneed sisters have since completed Code 1.0 and Web Programming. Currently, they’re taking our Data Analytics course.

Together, they complement each other’s strengths and push their respective career pursuits forward. 

“It’s so great having someone to bounce a question off of,” Juliette said. “(Tsega) is focused more on analytics and knows how I’ll best understand a concept in that realm.”

Conversely, Tsega leaned on Juliette when taking Web Programming.

“(Juliette) is more creative and great with CSS, JavaScript, and stuff like that,” Tsega said. “I’d ask her how she handled certain prompts and situations, and it helped stuff click into place.”

Why have they repeatedly returned to our courses? Tsega sees each course as a portal to increased opportunities in her current and future roles.

“Right now, I work at a power technology company, and most everything I do is data-driven,” Tsega said. “I mainly work with Microsoft Power BI and Excel. My goal with this Data Analytics course is to become more efficient in my role and gain experience as I potentially move into management.”

Juliette echoes her sister’s thoughts.

“At my Agribusiness job, I’m focused on farm-to-table processes,” Juliette said. “AG Tech is working with the machines making those processes happen and analyzing that data. Tech901 is opening multiple avenues in my field that I’ll be able to pursue.”

Though Tech901 was not in their original plan, they shared that their experience in our program has been invaluable—especially in the courses taken together.

They encourage people interested in IT to take a chance on Tech901 as they did. For Juliette, the value of our classes exceeds that of many university courses.

“I feel like we’ve learned more here than in college, even in a shorter time frame,” Juliette said. “The classes are smaller, and we have that connection with our instructors. Some classes at LSU had close to 1000 students, which could be very impersonal.”

Tsega feels similarly, adding that people will be surprised at how much they can learn from a single class.

“You might not be interested in coding or heavy lifting with data,” Tsega said. “But if you like to tinker with your hands, you can take apart computers and repair them. Take Foundations, and it’ll open your eyes to what is out there.”

To learn more about our remaining 2024 courses, click here.