Steven Rivera

What do you do when you earn a degree, only to realize right at the graduation finish line that you’re completely burned out?

If you’re Steven Rivera, you don’t panic. You pivot. You take a leap of faith, lean into your natural curiosity, and turn your journey into a massive, hands-on adventure.

Steven is a thriving System Administrator at the VA Medical Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. But his path from a remote help desk role to managing complex federal networks wasn’t the easiest. It was fueled by hard work, a passion for building hands-on projects, and a life-changing experience with Per Scholas.

Before finding his footing in the tech industry, Steven felt stuck. He had stacked up an impressive academic resume, including:

1. An Associate’s degree in Web Design and Development
2. A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

However, something wasn’t clicking. 

“Originally, I did have plans to be a software developer, but I just didn’t feel into it,” Steve recalls. 

To catch his breath, he took a remote help desk position at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). He knew he loved technology, but he hadn’t found his specific calling yet.

That changed when a friend who was studying cybersecurity threw him a lifeline and recommended Per Scholas. Intrigued by the opportunity to break into a high-demand field without taking on debt, Steven enrolled in his first no-cost tech training course: Cybersecurity Analyst+ (CySA+).

Moving into cybersecurity or advancing your tech skills is rarely easy, especially when you are already working full-time. For Steven, the Per Scholas classroom was a masterclass in time management and perseverance.

He ended up stacking three major Per Scholas courses:

• CompTIA CySA+ (Cybersecurity Analyst)

• CompTIA Security+

• Cisco CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)

“It was such a different experience to learn remotely, especially while working full-time,” Steven recalls. “Having to work 40+ hours and then managing all those projects and quizzes was… it was very intense, I’m not gonna lie.”

Because Per Scholas functions as a comprehensive tech training program rather than a superficial, high-cost boot camp, the expectations were high. But for Steve, the depth of the material was exactly what he needed.

By working closely with his instructors and collaborating tightly with his classmates, Steven found his groove: “I was very new to the space. I was very green, I was very shy. There was a reason I passed CySA+ on my first try: asking questions, but also working with other learners and instructors.”

All that intense lab work paid off. Right after graduating from his Cisco CCNA course, Steven landed a major career upgrade: a System Administrator position at the federal level with the VA Medical Center.

Because his daily responsibilities span level 1, 2, and 3 IT support, no two days look the same. He:

• Handles Active Directory management
• Manages Workstations on Wheels (WOWs)
• Troubleshoots hospital networks
• Tackles hardware repairs
• And more

Steve credits his Per Scholas training as the direct bridge to his current success.

“If I take what I learned from CySA+, Security+, and CCNA—I give props to Per Scholas for this—it’s a reason that I am in my current role. What I picked up at Per Scholas is why I’m able to multitask and learn from other departments.”

That deep baseline of knowledge gave him the confidence to jump straight into complex, high-stakes physical infrastructure upgrades at the medical center.

“We had a project very recently where we did all the access points in the facility. I took part in taking down the access points, putting them up, checking the VLAN IDs, and handling any cabling. I wouldn’t have been able to even touch that if I didn’t have some sort of experience and a lot of lab work that I had with my Per Scholas courses.”

Steve is constantly learning how old and new technologies fit together in a complex ecosystem, and he’s using that momentum to fuel his next big leap. Steven is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, aiming for a high-level Security Operations Center (SOC) analyst or IT auditor role. 

Steve has found his journey adventurous and thrilling. And his key takeaways include: 

1. “You don’t always need a perfect resume to land the job—sometimes you just need to show up ready to connect.”
2. “Even if you fail—cause I failed, I failed the CCNA, I failed Security+ the first time—just keep going, because I guarantee you will pass. As long as you get that one success, you are golden.”
3. “Projects and classwork help you get jobs a lot better than just having a certification, cause anyone can have a piece of paper. You also have to showcase what you know how to do.”

For others interested in high-reward, adventurous careers like Steve’s, Per Scholas offers training tracks designed to help you break through industry barriers, stack certifications, build skills, and launch your journey.