Apprenti Featured Apprentice – David Lim

January 11, 2018
Ellen O’Brien
Apprentices

It’s 2018 and Apprenti is set to double the number of apprentices by second quarter. 2017 witnessed a lot of firsts for the program, which is natural for Apprenti since it is the first and only registered tech apprenticeship program in the state of Washington. In 2017, our first cohort of software development apprentices started their training at Amazon.

David Lim, one of the apprentices from that cohort has graciously volunteered to share his experience in this blog post.

How did you first decide to pursue an apprenticeship through Apprenti?

While I was attending school in Seattle for software development, I had several friends that were accepted into software development apprenticeships at Amazon, Microsoft, and Avvo via Apprenti. Though apprenticeships are not new, this was the first apprenticeship of its kind in the U.S. I realized as a fresh out-of-school developer with no professional experience in the tech industry, it was a dream opportunity to learn from the best in the industry while building my professional experience.

What were you doing before Apprenti?

In the last 13 years, I served in the military and in law enforcement. First, I served as and Army Ranger in both Iraq and Afghanistan. After the Army, I served as a sworn peace officer specializing in crisis intervention. I loved my job, but the job put a significant toll on my family life. I always had a passion and talent for tech, so I decided to take the plunge. I left my public safety career and started attending school to learn software development.

What are you training for right now? How is it going so far?

I am currently working at Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a Software Development Engineer (SDE) Apprentice. I have been blessed to work on the S3 team which has some of the brightest software engineers in the world. The apprenticeship has been exciting, challenging, and rewarding. I’m excited to work at AWS, which is the leader in the cloud computing. Almost everything you do on the internet is somehow connected to AWS. The work is challenging, because I’m learning advanced concepts while learning the best practices for software development. I’m excited that I am getting the best start for my career in software development.

What effect has Apprenti brought to your career if any? What’s your plan for your career post Apprenti?

Apprenti is actively involved in the apprenticeship by providing continuing training resources, communication, and support for the other apprentices and myself. My plan post-Apprenti is to become a full time software development engineer at Amazon.

Would you recommend Apprenti? Who would you recommend it to?

I recommend Apprenti to anyone who is interested in a career in software development, has excellent problem solving skills, and is willing to be challenged to their full capabilities on a daily basis. As a military veteran, I know when other motivated veterans separate from service, they often hit unfamiliar barriers and struggle to find a path to a successful and rewarding careers. For those veterans, Apprenti removes those barriers and creates a path towards successful careers.

We have no doubt that David will excel through his apprenticeship to become a full-fledged software developer.

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Author

Ellen O’Brien

Ellen O’Brien is Apprenti’s Program Admin. Prior to working at Apprenti, she gained experience at other non-profits as well as providing administrative support in a variety of other industries. She is glad to be part of a team working to help people advance their careers. Ellen has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington Bothell. When not at work she enjoys volunteering, traveling, experimenting with new recipes, and spending time with her three cats and her husband.

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