In 2021, Amy Sandoval was working in property management and considering taking out student loans to go back to school. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but she knew it had to be engaging and challenging.
“I’d worked in restaurants, I’d worked in retail, I was a property admin,” she said. “Every job has challenges, but I needed something that would challenge my mind and never be boring.”
She was considering her educational options—and the ensuing debt—when her partner saw a Facebook post about Code the Dream. Sandoval applied and was intrigued by the pre-work assignment.
“I did the assignment, and I liked the work,” she said. “I’m like, ‘This might be interesting. Let me try the classes.’”
Beginning the journey: Classes at CTD Learns
Sandoval was accepted into CTD Learns and spent 2022 in the Intro to Programming and React classes. She also completed a practicum project, during which a small group of CTD Learns alumni from advanced classes work together to build and deploy an app.
Sandoval had found the challenge she was looking for.
“It was actually the hardest thing that I’ve ever done—having no previous knowledge of coding at all and learning how to code,” she said.“But as challenging as it was, I really liked it. I love the problem-solving aspect of coding. And so I continued.”
The Next Step: CTD Labs Apprenticeship
After completing the practicum, Sandoval applied and was accepted for a CTD Labs Apprenticeship which began in January 2023. Most of her work focused on CTD Labs’ Vamos outreach app. Vamos helps outreach workers plan, conduct, and report on outreach to seasonal and migrant farmworkers. Used by organizations in six states, Vamos requires the work of one of Code the Dream’s largest and busiest teams.
“That was such a great team to be a part of,” Sandoval said. “The mentors and everyone on the team was just super supportive. So I had a great time. I was like, ‘I really hope that my next role is just as good as Vamos.’”
An opportunity for growth: SAS Tandem Apprenticeship
As it turns out, that next role was transformative. Sandoval was part of a group of CTD Labs Apprentices who worked for SAS, a leading international software company based in North Carolina, via Code the Dream’s Tandem Apprenticeship program.
The Tandem Apprenticeship program allows companies to increase the productivity of their tech teams while opening life-changing opportunities for talented junior software developers. Code the Dream provides mentoring and administrative support for companies that work with and train young developers. Those companies also have the option to offer jobs to the apprentices who meet their standards.
The Tandem Apprenticeship at SAS suited Sandoval from the outset.
“I spent all of 2024 at my Tandem Apprenticeship with SAS, and it was just like Code the Dream!” she said. “They were super supportive, welcoming folks, and I had so much mentorship, and everyone just wants you to succeed. It just felt as great as Code the Dream.”
At the end of 2024, SAS offered jobs to Sandoval and some of her CTD cohort colleagues.
“I’m just really excited about it,” Sandoval said of her new position at SAS. “It still feels unreal. I still feel like, ‘Is this real life? Am I really a software developer at a company?’”
She says that the collegiality and support she valued during her time at Code the Dream continued during her Tandem Apprenticeship and is still going strong with the new cohort of Tandem Apprentices just brought on by SAS.
“We started a group chat last year as soon as we started at SAS, and we stayed in touch all year, and we’re still in touch,” Sandoval said. “And now that cohort number three has arrived at SAS, we’re also in a nice, big group chat with them, just as when we started, cohort number one supported us. So if they have any questions, people just chime in like, ‘Yep, I know exactly what you need to do.’”
Advice for future developers
Having made the transition to a tech career, Sandoval has advice for others who may be considering Code the Dream.
“You won’t know until you try,” she said. “And you really have to give it a good try because it’s challenging. But with Code the Dream, you’re more likely to succeed because you have this community of other developers that are learning with you, and you can lean on each other and support each other, and help lift each other up.”
