Adrian Rodriguez
JP Morgan
Washington, DC USA
"You can do whatever you want...it’s all a game, you just gotta know how to play it."
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Adrian's work combines: Technology, Business, and Learning / Being Challenged
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I doubted myself a lot when I when to college. Being a high school drop-out, I lacked a lot of fundamental skills and struggled with simple things like writing a complete sentence, etc. I had to retake several classes because I kept failing. There were many moments when I just wanted to quit and give up, but I loved computer science and programming so much that I stuck with it and pushed through.
Here's the path I took:
GED
Bachelor's Degree
Computer Science
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I grew up in a rough neighborhood in New Jersey and was raised by a single mother.
2.
Started hanging out with the wrong crowd and, by high school, I had been kicked out of several schools, so I made the decision to drop out entirely and got my GED instead.
3.
I became a father when I was 17 years old.
4.
Shortly afterwards, I decided to join the U.S. Army—due to my situation, I knew that if I didn’t join the military, I would have ended up dead or in jail.
5.
After leaving the military, I learned how to be a mechanic and opened up my own car shop, but I struggled financially to keep the business going.
6.
To help boost my business, I set out to build a website for my car shop, which is how I first got into computer programming—taught myself the basic skills using YouTube and other online resources.
7.
Decided to attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in computer science.
8.
Landed a coveted spot in the Vets Who Code bootcamp for veterans—I am now a full stack software engineer at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I can't do this, I should just quit.
How I responded:
I doubted myself a lot when I when to college. Being a high school drop-out, I lacked a lot of fundamental skills and struggled with simple things like writing a complete sentence, etc. I had to retake several classes because I kept failing. There were many moments when I just wanted to quit and give up, but I loved computer science and programming so much that I stuck with it and pushed through.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I grew up in a single-parent household where my mom was my main caregiver. For most of my childhood, she and I had to share a single bedroom in a house. She didn't have a great job, but she did the best she could to provide for us.
I grew up in a rough neighborhood in New Jersey surrounded by violence. I got mixed up in the wrong crowd when I was young, which led to me going down a bad path. I knew I would end up dead or in jail, so I joined the military to escape that.
I had gotten kicked out of several schools by the time I was in high school. I decided to drop out entirely and pursue a GED instead.
I had my first child when I was 17 years old which was a lot of responsibility and a challenge for someone so young with not a lot of education. It was a traumatic and beautiful experience. It became a motivation for me to succeed.
A car shop needs equipment which costs thousands and thousands of dollars and you need customers to offset that. I struggled to keep the business going financially. To go back to school, I had to take out a lot of school loans in order to afford it.
When I decided to go back to school and pursue a college degree, it was scary and intimidating. Since I didn't graduate high school, I lacked a lot of fundamental skills and I could barely write a full sentence. I did my best and pushed through.
Leaving the military was a tough transition. I dealt with the stigma against veterans a lot. I started a car shop, which ultimately failed due to financial reasons. I then went into computer programming. I've followed the opportunities available.