Amber Braaten

Amber Braaten, a 40-year-old mother of 7, was working as a Homeschool Teacher/Homemaker before she decided to pursue a career in IT and gain some certifications. This would be no easy feat, especially for a middle-aged woman in a predominantly young, male-dominated field, but Amber took the bold first step and enrolled in Per Scholas Phoenix’s IT Support course. 

During the course, Amber earned her CompTIA A+ certification, and has since earned 10 other IT-related certifications from Google, Coursera, and CompTIA. She now works as a Desktop Technician for ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp.

“It was a lot of work, but I love my job,” Amber reflected in an interview with the Arizona Business Journal. “I am doing what I really love to do. The people are amazing. It’s never dull.”