Building Skills While Building Career Clarity: Meet Rachel

In high school, Rachel E. never had a good answer when her guidance counselor asked that classic future-focused question: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” The problem wasn’t that she lacked options, but rather that she had too many. 

Rachel was enrolled in a STEM pathway, which could have unfurled in one of four directions: science, technology, engineering, or math. “I was one of those students who was good at many different things, but couldn’t pinpoint what they wanted to do in life exactly,” she recalled.  

Even in college, Rachel kept her options broad. It wasn’t until she neared the end of her associate degree in general studies that her future came into focus. Rachel attended a technology conference in her native Alabama, where she discovered the possibilities of a career in information technology (IT). She was a strong analytical thinker and she enjoyed solving problems—there seemed to be a good fit. 

As she transferred to a bachelor’s program in information technology, Rachel supported herself by working in customer service, which strengthened the customer-facing skills she’d eventually need to succeed in an entry-level IT role. She also sought a way to add to build her technical skills, and enrolled in the Google IT Support Professional Certificate. “My goal was to learn industry-level skills alongside my classes,” she said. 

Rachel has her immediate sights set on an IT specialist role, but wants to advance to systems administration—and earn a graduate degree—over time. She spoke with Coursera about her motivation for learning with Google, how she balanced that extra work with her already packed schedule, and what she learned along the way. 

What was learning like for you in the past? 

Learning needed to be a challenge. A lot of the time, when I was in school, I would easily get bored if we were going over the same material or just memorizing things. 2020 was the first time I had to learn online independently. At first, it was a bit challenging, but I adjusted after a while. It actually helped me become more self-disciplined. 

I ended up completing my bachelor’s online. Balancing schoolwork and my personal life was a bit of a challenge. But many of the IT-related projects that I worked on during that time helped me stay focused and motivated.

What have you enjoyed about learning with Google? 

The courses were more visual, which helped me grasp the material faster. They were also taught by really good instructors. It helped that if something was overwhelming, or you didn’t quite grasp it the first time, you could always go back. And the supplemental readings were great for learning more about the topics being discussed. I also loved hearing the testimonials from different people about how IT was a good career path for them.

What skills have you developed?

Working with command-line interface and Windows Active Directory definitely helped because much of that was new to me. When I was searching specifically for an IT job, a lot of them asked questions about different programming languages and tasks like ticketing and performing an audit. Google’s modules helped explain what these concepts were, and the virtual machines helped me to understand how to use a proper syntax language for each type of command terminal.

Did you face any challenges? How did you overcome them?

I kept having a hard time answering the exam questions in Course 2 [The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking]. I was stuck on it for two days. I had to go back, review my material, and think hard about the questions. 

Have you experienced any kind of impact from what you’ve learned with Google?

It made me realize how ambitious I actually was! Google’s videos often highlighted everyday people who had different life circumstances, people who may not have graduated from high school or were starting fresh. It made me realize that I wasn’t alone, and the other people were out there trying to achieve their goals with me.

How have you been able to apply what you’ve learned?

I recently got offered a few jobs in sales and IT support. I think many of these job offers reflect that employers do notice the combination of having skills from different environments, working with different people, and being technically knowledgeable.*

What do you hope to do with what you’ve learned?

I plan to become an IT technician or specialist. I want to go back to school and get my master's degree in something related to IT. Maybe a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in information technology or project management. Eventually, I want to find careers that are related to system administration.

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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.