Discover Angela’s journey from CNA to Help Desk Technician through career coaching for Black professionals. Learn how transferable skills led to $17K+ salary growth.

Hey Bee, Hey, it's Momma Bee here bringing you another I Got The Job success story. With over 100,000 members in our hive, we specialize in career coaching for Black professionals and supporting Black women career growth. This is Angela's Success Story.

Baby we good

Angela didn’t make it to prom. She was seventeen and seven months pregnant at the time. Her mother had given her only one choice, or rather, one command: You have until this baby is one year old, and you have to get out of my house.

Angela always reflected back on that conversation. She remembered thinking it was kind of funny viewing her mother did very little to raise her. While everyone was picking out a prom dress, Angela was picking out a program to become a CNA. She had always dreamed of being a nurse.

Her original plan was to enjoy her life with her high school sweetheart on campus at Hampton University. In her plan, she would pursue her Bachelor's in Nursing, then a Master’s, and maybe even her PhD. But after she learned of her pregnancy and his absence, she threw that dream in the trash and did what her situation allowed. Her dream of working as a nurse was not dead; it would just take a different route.

How Career Coaching for Black Professionals Unlocked Angela’s Transferable Skills

In Angela's words:

By the time my son was 9 months old, I had my CNA license. Three months later, I moved into my small apartment with my section 8 certificate in hand.

My mom did help out by babysitting for free when I worked. I was making about $46,000 a year, and that just wasn’t enough to have the luxury of a daycare center. This wasn’t exactly where I saw myself in five years, but the years went by so fast.

Before I knew it, my son was five, and being a CNA sometimes bounced me around to different facilities. I never stayed long enough to get a significant raise.

One of my patients' daughters told me one day about Black On The Job. She invited me to the Facebook group. That's where I found my tribe. There were thousands of women who looked like me, talking about the same things I was thinking about.

I wanted a Career Makeover Package but just didn’t have the extra coins to buy it. That was until I went on the website and saw they had Klarna.

From CNA to Help Desk Technician: A Career Change Strategy in Action

Once my career coach went over my skills, I found out that I had some very valuable and transferable skills. Instead of putting in applications for CNA roles, I used a career changer resume strategy to apply for a Help Desk Technician position.

Instead of changing adult diapers and taking temps, I was now taking calls from nurses in clinics and hospitals. My transferable skills included medical terminology, multitasking, and working under pressure.

I took the time after I got the job to get an IT certification, but it wasn’t required. My salary went from $46,000 to $63,000. And I don’t plan on stopping there. I’m currently upskilling to land a job as an Application Analyst. That job pays upwards of $85,000 a year — a great example of breaking into tech without coding.

Angela’s Message to the Hive

I wanted to tell the Bees not to settle. Where you start is not where you end. If you are in healthcare, there are so many ways to level up that don’t require patient care and still pay much more.

Talk to one of the career coaching for Black professionals consultants and find out why we say in the hive: Skills Pay Bills.

That small apartment I spent those first five years in? We live in a cute little two-bedroom home now. Baby, we’re good now!

Trivia Challenge Rules

Comment on this story and tell us if you think Angela’s mom was too harsh on her daughter or if it ignited the fuel for her to get up and make it happen.

Go on Instagram and find the post where Admin Cyn tells you that she doesn’t want to work but wants her nails done, and comment level-up.

Then tune in tonight and we will announce the winner. You gotta be tuned in to win!

Angela’s journey shows how Black women career growth is possible through skills mapping & transferable skills. She used a career changer resume strategy to pivot into tech and increase her salary by $17K — and now she’s preparing for an analyst role. This is just one of many success stories & case studies in our hive, where we’ve helped clients achieve a $35K average salary increase in 90 days. Ready to start your own transformation? Visit https://www.blackonthejob.co/