From Veterinary Nurse to Business Analyst: Michelle Le’s TripleTen Story

For some, it’s easy to look back on the pandemic cavalierly. What, that time when the world learned to bake bread? When in-person hangouts turned into Zoom games? When people finally redecorated their living spaces to make them pleasant places to be?

For some. For others like Michelle Le, it was a time of crisis. 

Here’s how she took stock, took back control, and took on a new role with TripleTen’s help.

Burnout — it’s for veterinary health workers, too

When the pandemic struck, Michelle was working as a veterinary nurse. The strain that COVID placed on human health networks was well-publicized, but this also extended into the vet’s office. “A lot of healthcare workers, not limited to human healthcare, but also veterinary healthcare — we were very overwhelmed, understaffed and working extra long hours,” she said.

She could even find herself working for more than half a day.

I did work for 10 hour shifts. However, some of those shifts would turn into 12 hour or 14 hour shifts, and dealing with an emergency hospital as well, you're on your feet all the time, and so even on our days off, it took a long time to really recuperate. Michelle Le, TripleTen grad

The intensity of her career was untenable. So, when she finally found time, she started seriously considering if this was the direction she wanted to keep pursuing: “COVID made me think and reflect about my life, my future.”

She could always commit harder and go deeper into the field, but something about that didn’t add up. “I had been in the field for about nine years, and I could specialize, which I did try going into, but the cost-benefit analysis for that route wasn’t great,” she said. “So I looked into tech, seeing if there was any scientific route, something where I could utilize my critical thinking skills.”

The field that stood out? Data analysis (which is now part of TripleTen’s Business Intelligence Analytics program); it lined up with her ambitions. As part of it, “we deal with a lot of numbers and math and also driving business decisions, which is something that I wanted to do.”

One last decision — how to get there? When TripleTen came up in her research, it was what she was looking for: interactive and job-focused. “I do perform better in a hands-on type of learning environment. So that was important to me, and the sprint-based type of curriculum was also important, since I know that is what a lot of companies do, and it emulated that.”

She enrolled.

Training her tech skills

One other thing that convinced her about TripleTen: it was part-time. See, she was still working when she joined. She spent 30 hours a week — considered full-time at her company — as a veterinary nurse, and in her free time, she studied. 

To make sure she stayed on track, she set up a schedule and stuck to it. “I was very strict in my everyday life with the times that I worked or ate dinner, and then with the time that I used to study,” she said. This even applied to her project deadlines: “I worked backwards, and I tried to finish my projects in a week, week and a half. So that is also something I kept really strict.”

But when she encountered Python_{5 Python Best Practices From a TripleTen Expert}, the language threw her for a loop. “Learning Python was definitely really hard for me.” For each hour that the bootcamp estimated she’d need to spend mastering the language, she instead spent three.

One aspect that saw her through, though, were the weekend coworking sessions. At those focused get-togethers, in addition to the tutor guiding them, “there were a handful of people that also joined — some regulars — so we got a little close. We were able to chat and relate about the curriculum and then also help guide each other on some of the topics and projects.”

So at the end of her time with the bootcamp, the tech wasn’t just clear to her. She even grew affection for it.

Coming from a non technical background, I never thought that I would be coding, but now I really do enjoy using Python. It's one of my favorite tools. Michelle Le, TripleTen grad

With her new mastery of the tech, she was ready for the job search.

The money-back guarantee

However, this was where Michelle hit a snag. She was following the guidance of her career coach. She was sending in applications. She was revising her resume, meeting people, and following through on all the get-hired advice and strategies TripleTen was giving her. But still, after six months, she hadn’t found success. And TripleTen’s money-back guarantee_{What You Need to Know about the TripleTen Money-Back Guarantee} had been something she’d kept in mind when joining the bootcamp in the first place. 

I would gather and learn all these hard skills, all these soft skills, I would have career coaching sessions, and then I would also have a great network of people. And if I got my money back, then it would be like free tuition. So why not? Michelle Le, TripleTen grad

So she asked for TripleTen to make good on its promise of refunding her tuition once she hit the deadline. After a quick check that she’d indeed stuck to all the company’s recommendations and put a good faith effort into landing a job in her new field, it came through. “Within two weeks after auditing, I was approved for the money back guarantee,” she said. 

But yeah, there’s one more section just below. Because her story doesn’t end here.

Reclaiming her time with a new career

By activating the money-back guarantee, Michelle no longer had access to continuing professional support from TripleTen. But that didn’t mean the know-how and wisdom she’d gained at the bootcamp suddenly vanished. 

And it didn’t mean she could no longer use the employment-focused tools she’d been given. “I was still using the job tracker that TripleTen provided for me, and then I also still practiced SQL and Python, and even practiced interviews — mock interviews,” she said.

She contributed to articles on LinkedIn and networked_{How to Network (and Stay Sane)}, even if it started out rough. “Initially it was really cringy, but I got over it and thought, ‘At this point I really have nothing to lose. The worst is they can say no. The worst is they can reject me.’ And that was the same when I was also applying to jobs. The worst that could happen is they reject me.”

So she kept going, focusing on merging her past in healthcare with her new skills in tech. She got a hit from a cold application, after which she talked to the recruiter, the hiring manager, and then the team. 

Her bona-fides spoke for themselves, so she got to instead shape the conversation as she wanted: “I did get to really hone in on my soft skills. My hard skills presented themselves with my portfolio, which, of course, TripleTen helped me put together.”

Soon enough, she’d landed the job. Now she’s a Patient Experience Business Associate Analyst at Natera, a genetic testing company focusing on women’s, organ, and transplant health.

In this role, she analyses data to drive business decisions. And she sees how valuable her TripleTen experience has proven to be: “Just some of the skills that I've learned from TripleTen that I've been able to use at the company are data cleaning, Python, SQL, and Power BI.”

And she’s no longer straining under the 14-hour grind she used to endure.

Actually having time to myself at the end of the day and having energy to actually work out and exercise — that has been really helpful and life-changing in itself. [I’m] able to walk my dog on my breaks, spend some more time with her, and then cook and eat fresh food. That may not seem like much to some, but it's often the small things we take for granted. Michelle Le, TripleTen grad

She’s no longer battling burnout. In fact, she now even has time for holidays: “I had Thanksgiving off. That was something that I've never had before.”

Explore more

Michelle’s not the only one who’s switched to tech with TripleTen and found more time for life. Check out all our other student stories here.