When it comes to his career, Nicholas Oldham has always wanted to contribute more to his company and give back to his community.
Oldham works for WeGo Public Transit in Nashville, Tennessee.
He started off behind the wheel, driving a bus. After going back to school, he’s obtained the tools to now be senior safety program manager for the company.
“I learned how to take a data set, clean the data up and then massage it so that I could help the company make better business decisions,” he said.
Oldham was able to make his career change following a 20-week bootcamp at Pivot Tech Coding and Analytics school.
Pivot Tech is looking to train everyone in a variety of tech fields, but the school is focused on helping more African Americans find jobs in the industry.
“Everyone has a diversity initiative right now, but we want to know who’s really serious about hiring minority talent,” said Pivot Tech co-founder Quawn Clark.
Clark and Joshua Mundy started Pivot Tech in early 2020 and they’re concentrating on teaching people of color data analytics, cyber security and software development.
“We’re working directly with companies and corporations to see what they’re looking for a pipeline them right in,” Clark said.
A 20-week course at pivot tech costs $8,500 with financing or $6,500 paid up front.
Clark and Mundy say once the course is complete, Pivot Tech grads will start their first jobs earning at least $65,000 a year.
“As soon as the people can acquire the skills that are in demand, they’re going to immediately increase their income,” Mundy said.
For Oldham, the price was well worth the investment.
“Pivot Tech was very, very, very involved, allowing me to really double my salary,” he said.
Now in a new position and making more money, Oldham is helping others by inspiring them to advance their careers.
“That’s the only way to get ahead in life is just to advance yourself, teach yourself, get all the education that you need,” said Kayotiea, a dispatch operator at WeGo Transit. “And you can go anywhere that you need to go.”