Elena Bilko

Elena Bilko was busy studying the business side of fashion when she started taking some IT courses. Feeling like her fashion career wouldn’t take off the way she wanted it to, she knew she had to take action on a career change from fashion to technology.  Elena researched various boot camp-style courses and stumbled upon Per Scholas’s training following some computer science and other tech courses, applying for the cybersecurity training.

Reflecting on her time in her Cybersecurity course, Elena said the training was challenging and built upon the other programming she learned in the past, but the technical skills she learned at Per Scholas were very applicable to her career. She mentioned that some of the information was complicated and she had to put in extra hours to learn and research the material, but it was worth it because of the support from her cohort and instructors. “We did a lot of hands-on training and cybersecurity cases,” Elena reflected. “By the time I graduated, I felt very confident and knew a lot of information to start in the industry. I feel confident speaking to someone that’s been in tech and explaining my work to others.”

Elena is happy she chose Cybersecurity as her field of study in technology because of its innovative environment. “You can learn a lot in cybersecurity; there is a lot going on in the field,” Elena mentioned. “It’s a good field for the future with all the cybercrime happening. Companies will need employees with cybersecurity experience, so I wanted to go that route.”  Elena looks forward to her future with her career in tech after her career change. “For me, it was important to have a good job and provide for myself and my family. I wanted better opportunities and a good work-life balance and to be paid fairly so I could afford things to take care of my family and myself. A career in IT seems to be more secure with better opportunities and salaries.”