Here I got knowledge and real help

I think that my story is familiar to many women who came to America on H-4 visa. Although I had a good education and some working experience in Russia, I didn’t feel stable here unable to speak English, not having a Social Security number and permission to work. To gain a feeling of confidence, I studied English in college and later took some classes in accounting, business, programming and other courses, trying to find out what I’d enjoy and be good at here in America. When I understood that I would get my work authorization soon, I started to think seriously about finding a job.

Realizing that a profession of QA engineer is in demand, I decided that it would be a great opportunity for me since I have a math background and some knowledge in computer and programming. However, I didn’t know how to start. To find that first job in America is a big problem for numerous people. One of my friends advised me to go to Portnov School. She said that she knew several people who found a job quickly after graduation from this school. For several months I wondered whether to go or not.

What made me doubt? Tuition; It seamed a bit too high for me. But in reality, I just needed two weeks of work to return that money back. Also, I considered the late time of classes. Usually they finished at 11:00pm. Being an early bird person, I was afraid that I would be sleepy by that time and wouldn’t understand anything. To my surprise, I stayed awake and active the whole time. The classes were so interesting that I sometimes lost track of time and ended up stayed a bit longer at school than needed talking with classmates and teachers. The teachers were professional, with a sense of humor, and encouraged me and other students to participate in the discussions, completing assignments and other work activities.

Why do I like this school? What have I found here? Warm and friendly environment, where people teamed up by a common goal – to become good testers and find a job, shared their life stories, knowledge and interview experiences. Here, at this school, I met some old friends and made new ones. Not only that, but I got huge help with resume, internship (where I got my experience of work in America), and job search. I really appreciate Mikhail and Sofia, who encouraged me, made me more self-confident, and found the company where I had my interview and got my job.

At this school I got good QA training and learned job search skills (how to prepare for the interview, and how behave to make good impression). Here I heard a lot of stories about how people got their jobs, how they answered tricky questions, and found not traditional solutions for some tasks. At this school there’s an excellent tradition: if a student finds a job, he or she brings a cake to school. I attended school twice a week, and at least once a week we had a cake at break time. We knew that somebody finished his/her job search journey. One month ago, I and some of my friends with whom I took classes brought our cakes to school for new students to show our appreciations and say “Thank You” to the people who established this school and those who work here.