Meet the IT Support Tech Advancing Toward a Cybersecurity Career

You might say Donald Collins' path to the United States began in a Jamaican funeral parlor. A native of the country, he provided IT support to a local mortuary, where he eventually met the woman who would become his wife. She’d traveled from the US for her uncle’s funeral, and the friendship they struck up blossomed into love. 

After Collins and his wife successfully filed for a fiancé visa, he arrived ready to learn, knowing education would be a gateway to better-paying jobs. “I’m coming from a third-world country to a first-world country. I had to get some education,” he says. “Back then, I only had one certification: Cisco IT Essentials.”  

Collins arrived in the US in March of 2020—just as pandemic lockdowns began—and he immediately looked for ways to strengthen his existing skills while building new ones. “To the rescue, I saw Coursera,” he says. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, this is good. I can do it in my free time.’” 

Building a strong career foundation

He started with the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which covers day-to-day IT support tasks, including computer assembly, wireless networking, installing programs, and customer service. “I felt like I got a good refresh of technology,” he says. 

It helped that the program provided practical examples of troubleshooting and debugging. “They gave little case studies that almost mimic what happens in the real world,” he says. When Collins found a job as a deskside support technician shortly after finishing his certificate, he applied what he’d learned right away.* “I basically started on a good note because I knew all the new technologies,” he says. “I’m very happy. I love the job, I love the people, and it’s gotten me far.” 

Collins could have stopped there, but he was eager to learn more. From IT Support, he moved on to IBM Cybersecurity Analyst. “I kept going and going,” he says, working his way through Google Project Management, Google Professional Cloud Workspace Administrator, Google AI Essentials, the University of Minnesota’s Information Systems Specialization, Customer Service Fundamentals, and most recently the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 Exam Prep. “I did a lot of them,” he chuckles.  

Because learning on Coursera is self-paced, Collins could build it into his schedule, working through lectures and assignments at his convenience. “You could do it anytime,” he says. “I also like the fact that some of it allowed you to grade other peers’ work. Even though you weren't actually in a college setting, it gave you that feeling where you could see other people’s points of view. It was a great tool for me.”  

Looking ahead to a degree

Learning through Coursera primed him to explore higher education. The discipline he’d structured around studying made the transition much easier, as did getting credit for his previous work. When he applied to a local community college in Massachusetts, he was able to earn college credit for everything he’d accomplished on Coursera and reduce the time to graduation. “I submitted a Credly transcript and they sent it over for more reviews and then I had a lot of credits,” he says. 

Learn more: 13 Tips for Working Full-Time and Going to School

When Collins finishes his associate degree in computer support, he plans to transfer into a bachelor’s program. He’d like to study cybersecurity because he’s interested in the way it maps to the IT work he now does. “It’s the same support on a wider scale, like securing networks,” he says. “I like that part of it.” 

For someone who arrived in the US just four years ago, Collins has accomplished a great deal. “My wife and my kids really keep me motivated,” he says, as do those he loves dearly who are no longer with him. “This year was one of my hardest,” he explains because his wife’s mother passed away. “She was really close to both of us.” 

Collins recollects how impressed she was when he first got to the US and focused on building a strong foundation for his next stage of life. He aims to live his life in a way that honors her memory. “You want to be doing better than when they left you,” he says. “You don't want them to say, ‘Oh, you're crying for me every day, but you're not trying to pick yourself up and move on.’ So that's what we've been trying to do. Just to be better, to learn new skills, to see how we can advance ourselves.” 

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*Individual experiences and outcomes can vary and Coursera does not guarantee job interviews or job placements upon completion of its courses.