Fall 2016
Carolyn Becker
When Carolyn Becker wanted to change careers and work with advanced technology, she looked to FVTC’s Information Technology programs.
Carolyn Becker was a successful yet unsatisfied finance professional. “I was not passionate about what I was doing,” says the 29-year-old Middleton, Wisconsin native. “I did enjoy, however, learning about technology and new software. Information technology (IT) seemed like a more exciting career field for me, one where there would always be something new to learn.”
The decision to return to school was hard for Becker. She worried about cost and the time it would take to earn a new degree. “Fox Valley Technical College made going to college an easy and affordable decision,” she says. “I will graduate with a double major in Software Development and Web Development & Design in under two years.”
Becker feels that FVTC has prepared her with the right skills to succeed in the IT field. “I was part of a class project that created a fully-functional website that used a simple algorithm to bring people together based on what type of games they liked to play,” she says. “Our team took the project from idea stage to launch thanks to everything we learned in these programs.”
In addition, Becker’s internship at the Experimental Aircraft Association continues to give her real-world job experience. “I do a lot of things that a web developer does on a regular basis like changing the look of a page or making a site more mobile-friendly,” she adds.
Becker is also part of BizSquad, a grant-funded FVTC class that helps students get hands-on experience while helping community organizations with various projects. “Everyone at Fox Valley Tech focuses on making sure you have the abilities needed to succeed,” she says.
Quick Facts:
– 28 full-time IT career opportunities posted per month in our region
Wisconsin TechConnect
– $40,000+ average annual salary for software developers who graduated from FVTC in 2015
– $51,300+ average annual salary for web designers who graduated from FVTC after being in the workforce for five years
2016 FVTC Graduate Employment Research Report
