A Full-Circle Moment: Justin's Journey From ITWorks Student to Full-Time Staff
Justin Calabrese is one of the many ITWorks graduates that made their way into a full-time technician position at Tech Impact and continues serving clients and customers across the country.
Back in 2015, Justin Calabrese found himself at a crossroads.
After working as a baker in a family-owned shop for nearly 6 years, he decided to make a career change. Technology was always something he had a genuine interest in and knew there were many opportunities in that field. The problem was, he wasn’t sure how to get his foot in the door. “I didn’t know if I should continue taking college classes, find an entry level job, study for certifications – I knew I was going to do whatever it took to get into tech, I just didn’t know how to approach it.” Luckily, his girlfriend ran across an ITWorks ad in Craigslist and shared it with Justin. “I thought no way this is real. It seemed too promising, too good to be true and I didn’t know if I could trust it. But, I figured I would try it out and apply, and the rest has been history and truly life changing.” After passing the interview stages, Justin accepted a position in the 2016 Fall Cohort and started his journey with a new outlook.
Justin excelled and took advantage of every opportunity that presented itself during the program. This culminated in him securing an internship with Tech Impact’s Help Desk, and was ultimately offered a full-time position at Tech Impact as a Tier 1 Help Desk technician after passing his Comp TIA+ certification test. “The program was amazing – the connections, the upskilling, the personal development. I cannot speak highly enough for what it did for me and for my family.”
Throughout the following years, Justin moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2 and gained more and more responsibilities on the Tech Services side. Justin remained incredibly committed to furthering his knowledge and worked with any and every department and expert within the staff that he could. “When I first started as a Tier 1, it felt like I was constantly asking my co-workers for help or advice. I learned from my mistakes and took any advice I was given seriously. As time went on, I noticed others began coming to me for assistance, which was a huge confidence boost and made me felt like a real asset to the team”.
In just a few short years, Justin was promoted to Remote Monitoring and Management Engineer, a new position leadership made for Justin to fill. He works with all of Tech Impact’s clients supporting documentation, training, and remote monitoring systems for the organization. “One of the things I love the most about Tech Impact is its culture and people. What’s cool is you aren’t siloed in your own lane. There is room to work with other departments, learn from other people, help out with different projects, which are all things that ultimately make me a better and more knowledgeable technician. Tech Impact supports that camaraderie and cohesion and has an environment that tries to promote from within, upskill when possible, and just generally make for an enjoyable place to work.”
Justin’s full-circle experience with Tech Impact – first as a student of ITWorks all the way to a top tier technician, comes with a host of gratitude, appreciation, and recognition of his own hard work. “If I could say anything to a prospective ITWorks student it would be to take the chance to better your life. Invest in yourself, learn all you can, and you too will be looking back in a few years and seeing how far you have come.”