From Married at First Sight Fan Favorite to a Rewarding Career in Tech: Mindy Shiben’s Journey
scroll down
subheading here
Our LocationS
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
London@kandw.com
(210) 802–7289
DOWNTOWN: 600 Navarro St #300, San Antonio, TX 78205
By StoryStudio on MARCH 23, 2023 12:00 PM
When the pandemic hit, Mindy Shiben, the Married at First Sight Season 10 fan-favorite, found herself at a crossroads. The accomplished Maryland native had served four years in the Airforce as an Arabic linguist prior to completing her undergraduate education in health sciences. She then worked as a figure skating instructor for years and married fellow Married at First Sight Contestant Zach Justice. But as Covid restrictions lifted and she split with Justice, Mindy couldn’t shake the feeling there was something more out there for her.
Mindy was curious about learning to code for a while – she had friends and a relative in the field – and it seemed like the perfect time to assess the possibility of furthering her education. Like most of us, her research started on YouTube, where, during the pandemic, she took a few coding lessons and found she had an affinity for it. As she continued to research coding careers, she came across Codeup, a tech career accelerator in San Antonio. Mindy became intrigued by Codeup’s data science program, a 20-week course that offers a near-lock on gainful employment in a field the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts will grow by 31 percent in the coming decade. Mindy, no stranger to adventure, decided to take a chance. She moved to San Antonio and enrolled in Codeup.
“I went into Codeup not knowing if I was going to be good at coding at all,” Mindy recalls. “I wanted to take a chance and challenge myself and do something new.”
To her pleasant surprise, Mindy found she not only enjoyed coding but excelled at it. A year later, Mindy is now a Data Scientist, Consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the nation’s leading consultancy firms, living in San Diego and loving it.
“I’m so glad I took a chance,” she says. “Turns out, I’m pretty good at it and now I have a great career in data science.”
Data science is a multi-faceted field, combining numerical metrics with creative thinking, or as Mindy describes it, “a data driven approach to helping businesses find insights and drive change.” A career enabling Mindy to be both analytical and creative attracted the former linguist and figure skating instructor. Mindy’s experience proves no matter what your background is, with Codeup’s help, you can be successful in the tech world.
“Your past experience is relevant,” Mindy explains. “One of the best things about Codeup is their professional development team that helps us take our skillset and translate them into skills that are advantageous for data scientists. For example, when I’m communicating the technical parts of data insights to my team, I break them down the same way I used to break down the technical side of skating to my students. It’s really cool to see how one can take their past and bring it in to a new career.”
Make sure to update the clien't name and click-thru URL
Update the date and time published
This is a video file, if you don't have video insert image here! Needs to be this size:
Width: 1076
Height: 605
Subheader to be left aligned
Body Font: Work Sans
Body Font Weight: Light
Body Font Size: 16
Body Font Line: 31
Alignment: Left
If you don't have 3 images, pull in one horizontal image - sizing of this should be:
Width: 682
Height: 400
Mindy’s journey is becoming more common in the traditionally male-dominated industry. Codeup is part of a widening accessibility, and broadening career opportunities for all in coding-related fields, with its programs for future data scientists, full-stack web developers for websites, apps, and video games, and cloud administrators.
“It’s really important that women and girls understand that they are just as capable as anyone of being very successful in tech,” Mindy says. “Codeup goes out of its way to not only encourage gender diversity, but to proactively help close the gender gap in the field. I’m really grateful for so many female pioneers in data science and other tech fields that have shown me by example that we absolutely belong here.”
Mindy says Codeup’s coursework provided her advantages a traditional college program may not. Codeup’s immersive learning environment – where like-minded students attend in-person classes five days a week – focuses on project-based, experiential learning. Many of the projects students work on become part of their portfolio and are then used to create a compelling resume. Meanwhile, Codeup’s professional development team hosts mock interviews, helps with resumes, and individually prepares Codeup grads for the workforce. Mindy’s interview with Booz Allen Hamilton occurred the same day she graduated, though many of her classmates had already accepted jobs before they graduated.
Codeup’s immersive atmosphere fosters a family-like environment where colleagues become friends and teachers become mentors.
“All of my instructors were absolutely amazing, but I really connected with Adam Gomez because of his teaching style,” she remembers. “He’s just the smartest person I’ve ever met. To see him work is incredible. And when he gives you praise, you feel at the top of the world. We were just in awe of his work.”
“I’m so glad I took a chance. Turns out, I’m pretty good at it and now I have a great career in data science.”
Mindy Shiben
Today, Mindy is happy she took the chance to attend Codeup. Her career at Booz Allen Hamilton – what she calls her “dream job” – provides her with new challenges every day. Mindy hopes to stay there forever. For those considering a new career, Mindy encourages you to check out Codeup.
“I’m proud of myself,” she says. “It’s so easy to stay in your bubble and do what’s comfortable, but if you feel any desire, anything inside of you asking ‘what if,’ it’s a disservice to yourself if you don’t explore that.”
Codeup offers those who are curious about coding and serious about their futures the opportunity to train for a career in some of the most in-demand jobs available. With locations in San Antonio and Dallas, interactive courses taught by inspiring industry professionals, and a rigorous professional development team, Codeup is committed to the success of their students.
“Codeup changed my life; it can change yours,” says Mindy. “Give yourself the chance to do something new.”
Codeup courses are beginning all the time. Learn more at www.codeup.com.
60% of people drink coffee every day
60% of people drink coffee every day
60% of people drink coffee every day
Pull Quote
Font: Aboreto
Size: Normal
Weight: 29
Line: 35
Name & title:
Font: Work Sans
Weight: Normal
Size: 16
Line: 21
Pull Quote
Font: Aboreto
Size: Normal
Weight: 29
Line: 35
Name & title:
Font: Work Sans
Weight: Normal
Size: 16
Line: 21
Stats/Facts
Font: Aboreto
Weight: Normal
Size: 18
Line: 29
ICONS - Remove background from images in ceros to make them trasparent
MAP - what to do here?
subheading here
Headline Count:
60 Characters (including spaces)
SPACING
1) Between paragraphs
2) Between any other elements
SPONSORED BY CODEUP
CASTLE CAMPUS: 1 Fanatical Pl, San Antonio, TX 78218