Matthew Heartsfield
Margolis Edelstein
Philadelphia, PA USA
"Success isn’t six figures. Success isn’t a million followers and a bunch of people watching every little motion that you do. It’s, are you happy with where you are? And are you doing the things you want to do?"
Career Roadmap
Matthew's work combines: Technology, Engineering, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
It would be great if you could get a little bit of both the traditional education experience and certifications. However, you can definitely get an IT job and do it well based solely on certifications. I recommend thinking about whether you want to be the person doing the job or the person creating the next big thing. If you're the former, I'd look at training programs, certifications, and hands-on experience. If you're the latter, it would be good to go to college.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Vocational
Computer Science
ITWorks
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
As a kid, I dreamed of designing video games, which led me to pursue computer-focused classes in high school.
2.
I graduated as valedictorian and pursued computer science and math in college—but I hated it and quickly realized the traditional path wasn’t for me.
3.
At Temple University, I found hands-on work in the computer recycling department and thrived in that environment.
4.
My brother introduced me to an IT training program, ITWorks, that changed my career trajectory completely.
5.
I started in help desk roles for law firms, learning the systems and culture of legal IT.
6.
By specializing in a document management system, I advanced to working for a global law firm.
7.
Over the course of a decade, I moved from frontline tech work to becoming an IT director by solving problems and building trust.
8.
Mentoring others through the same training program I went through became a passion as I helped people from all backgrounds enter tech.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You have to go to college. That's the right thing to do if you want to be successful.
How I responded:
I was valedictorian in high school and everyone pushed me to go to college, pressing the idea that college is the only way to be successful. So I went to college for computer science and math, but I absolutely hated it. I'm more of a hands-on person—I want to do work. I was introduced to an IT training program, which ended up being a much better fit for me.