Amber Braaten

Amber Braaten’s journey into the tech field was initially a difficult one. A mother of seven, she began homeschooling her children during the Covid pandemic – an already challenging task that was further complicated when she badly broke her foot. Stuck in a wheelchair for six months, Amber, who had previously worked jobs in a variety of fields, found herself unable to work and struggling under the financial burden of the multiple surgeries required to fix her foot. “I decided, I can’t go out and work, why not go back to school?” Amber reflected. She heard about Per Scholas through a friend and thought it seemed like a perfect fit – not only would it provide her the skills needed to land a job in the tech field, it would expedite the process, allowing her to reenter the workforce in a matter of months. 

Amber applied to Per Scholas and was soon enrolled in the Per Scholas’s National Remote Technical Training (RTT) IT Support course. All Per Scholas courses contain a combination of both technical and career development training, holistically preparing learners for positions in the tech workforce upon graduation.  “At Per Scholas, as a learner, I have gotten so much information, knowledge, certifications, job readiness skills – for networking, for reaching out to employers…” Amber recalled. “I couldn’t have done it without the support from Per Scholas staff, and also my classmates and instructors. I am still friends with them to this day!” 

Amber graduated with her CompTIA A+ certification, but she didn’t stop there! She has since returned to Per Scholas for several alumni upskilling courses at the Per Scholas Phoenix campus, and has gained a plethora of certifications, including CompTIA Network+, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, and many, many more. After graduating, Amber continued to receive resources and support from Per Scholas as she began her job search, and soon landed her first tech role in IT Desktop Support. Amber’s career has continued to grow, and she now works as an IT Service Desk Controller at Master Electronics directly applying skills she learned at Per Scholas to her job each day. She recently played a role in hiring another Per Scholas alumni to her company, recognizing that Per Scholas graduates are hardworking, eager to learn, and possess the confidence and technical skills that qualify them to excel a variety of roles. 

Amber plans to become an AWS Solutions Architect and continue gaining certifications. “Per Scholas has really changed my life in so many ways. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. There is no other school that can do as much for their learners as Per Scholas.”

Hear more of Amber’s story here.