Real Advice from a Careerist Alum: David's Journey from Dietitian to QA Engineer

After years of working as a dietitian in healthcare and food service, David hit a career ceiling – and with a young family at home, returning to school for four more years wasn’t an option. In this Q&A, David shares how he made the leap into Software QA with Careerist, what it was like to learn QA with no prior IT experience, the internship and job search support that helped him land his first QA role, and how he’s applying his skills today at an advertising agency. Plus, David weighs in on how AI is shaping the future of QA – and why humans still matter.

What motivated you to change career paths and do a QA bootcamp?

I went to school for five years, became a dietitian, and worked in healthcare, food service, and K-12 food service. I eventually reached the highest point I could get in my career without taking on significantly more hours, which I didn't want to do. So I knew I needed to make a career shift.

I didn't know what to shift into, so I Googled “How can I get into IT without going back to school for four years?” At this point, I had two kids and couldn't spend four years going back to school. QA software engineering came up in my search; the rest is history.

Did you research a bunch of QA bootcamps, or did you have your heart set on Careerist? 

I started by watching YouTube videos and “day in the life” content from others who had made the transition – probably something like this interview. I had never heard of QA before. I didn't know Software QA Engineers existed; I didn't know anyone who did it.

At first, I was skeptical – it seemed too good to be true, almost like a scam. But I went down a research wormhole, tried to learn as much as possible about the field, and eventually chose Careerist.

What factors were important to you when choosing a bootcamp? 

Flexibility was the biggest factor. I was still working full-time and had kids at home, so I couldn't go to a physical location or be tied to specific class times. What I liked about Careerist was that they have set class times, but you can watch them later. So whether I was studying at midnight, 1 AM, or 4 AM, if I woke up early, I could complete classes on my schedule.

The price was good, and they had financing options if needed. But what really sold me was that they paired you with a one-on-one career coach from day one. Everything is job-oriented – the focus isn't just on learning, but on getting you employed as quickly as possible. Those were the key factors that made me very happy with my choice."

What did a typical week look like for you as a student? And how was the Careerist bootcamp different from previous learning experiences?

I had zero IT background – I was coming straight from being a dietitian. My undergrad experience was intense – I'd be in the library from 6 AM to midnight. This was definitely not that. Honestly, if you can turn a computer on and off and open and close an email, you can learn how to do this.

I signed up for the Careerist bundle, which includes manual and automation QA. You do manual QA first, then learn automation. For the manual portion, it was two days a week, with about two hours per lesson and an hour of homework per lesson. You could complete your lessons and homework whenever convenient, as long as everything was submitted by the end of the week.

The manual course was pretty simple overall. It was a little tricky initially because everything was totally new – new lingo, new terms. But after a week or two, you realize it's not bad and anyone can learn how to do this."

What was your favorite project that you worked on while in the bootcamp? 

My favorite project was in the automation course, where we ran automation testing on Target.com. They let you choose between sites like Amazon.com and Target.com – we chose Target and basically ran hundreds of test scenarios on their website.

We tested everything – clicking each link, rollovers, ensuring links work and have the correct number of links, what happens when you navigate to the next page, whether the buy box works, and whether the colors and fonts are correct. It was incredible to see what a large company like Target would do and how they would test their website. Having that experience with an instructor and then being able to do it independently was really valuable.

How did Careerist prepare you as you started to look for your first tech job?

Before you even pay any money, Careerist makes it crystal clear that the job search is harder than the actual bootcamp. They tell you upfront that when you graduate, you'll be doing 25 to 30 job applications every day for around six months. They set these expectations clearly so you don't get discouraged.

This was very different from my previous experience, where I applied for five jobs and heard back from three. But they really set you up for success. You get a mentor, mock interviews, and someone you can call, text, or email for as many practice sessions as you need. During the course, they give you the top 40 questions you'll be asked, and as you're learning the material, they connect it back to interview prep.

Once you graduate, your coach continues working with you. They run mock interviews, let you know when they think you're ready, and help optimize your LinkedIn and resume with all the right keywords and ATS-friendly terms.

Careerist also has AI tools to streamline your job search. They can autofill applications and pull jobs through a dashboard, so you can see 50 new jobs, identify the brand new ones, and quickly apply to multiple positions.

What was really helpful was having a coach who worked with other students, too. When I was three or four months in and getting discouraged after 1,500-2,000 applications and rejections, my coach would share success stories from other students in similar situations. Hearing that it was possible and that others were succeeding kept me motivated.

Were you able to land an internship first, or what was your journey to eventually get to a full-time job?

One awesome thing about Careerist is that they provide an internship as part of the program. After you finish your coursework, they connect you with a real company for an internship. The minimum is two weeks, but they recommend three to four weeks. I worked with Reelly.io, a B2B real estate platform.

I worked with my cohort and did actual Scrum meetings. We met in the morning and shared what we worked on yesterday, what we’re working on today, and any blockers or questions. If you can't attend live because you're at work, you can listen to the recording afterward. I do Scrum meetings daily in my current job, so getting that real company experience was invaluable.

You get actual projects from real project owners. Depending on your internship, you might work on an app or website. Everyone tests different things, then you collectively meet to discuss findings.' It's very helpful to get that hands-on experience.

So what was your first full-time, Software QA job opportunity after the internship?

I started getting interviews around month three. Of course, the first interviews were terrible – I thought I was a great interviewer, but technical interviews are different. In your first tech interviews, you're super nervous.

The cool thing was that for any development in my job search, I'd send details to my career coach. If I had a phone screening with an HR rep, I'd share the job description and what they were looking for, and they'd do a mock interview with me based on that specific role. Even on the day of an interview, if I was feeling nervous, I could call at 9 AM and they'd do a practice session. These people really want you to succeed.

They might not predict 100% of the questions, but you go into interviews in a good state of mind, prepared for potential questions based on the job description. Mock interviews are incredible.

After getting better and better at interviews, I eventually landed my first role at Opus IVS, a car diagnostic tool company. It involved manual testing, some automation, and even on-car testing, which was incredible. I didn't know anything about the automotive world, but the great thing about QA is that while every company is different with their specific processes, QA fundamentals are pretty much the same everywhere. You learn the company-specific stuff on the job and pick it up fairly quickly.

And what are you working on today, David? 

I transitioned from my first QA role into my new role as a QA Tester at an advertising agency. We work with massive, multi-billion dollar companies that send millions of emails daily, and everything needs to work perfectly – especially when a buy box is involved. If a buy box goes down – even for an hour – it can cost a company like Nike or Amazon millions of dollars.

That’s where QA comes in. Even something as seemingly simple as an email can break critical functionality. Every major company (even smaller ones) needs strong QA processes to avoid those issues.

What we learned in the Careerist course is very helpful – how to write incidents, how to communicate with developers, and how to operate within a scrum team. Every company does things differently, but the bootcamp gave me a solid foundation to adapt and know what to expect in a real-world QA environment.

How do you envision AI or other emerging technologies changing your career as a software QA engineer? Has it changed already?

The cool thing about manual QA is that manual testers must check everything. Even if you have your whole system automated with AI testing everything, you still need a human to do one final check. No company will ever say, “Yep, automated, go send it,” without human verification.

Currently, we're using AI tools alongside us to help us do more work faster. But just like everything else, you must double-check AI because there are issues and errors everywhere. AI will help us move faster and take care of a lot of the super mundane checking and testing, so we can focus on more high-level tasks that would be hard to automate.

As far as completely replacing manual QA, I hope that doesn't happen. But I still think every company will need a human to double-check everything at the very end.

What advice would you give to someone just starting Careerist?

Don't give up. Definitely don't give up. Listen to your career coach and what they're saying. I thought I knew a lot about the job world and what I was doing, but I realized I didn't.

My advice: listen to your coaches, don't give up, and apply for jobs daily. They recommend Sunday through Thursday – take Friday and Saturday off. But every single day, do 25-30 applications, just do it repeatedly.

The job you don't think will ever respond to you might be the one. For me, both jobs I've had were ones where I just thought, “Oh, I'm just going to send this in and see what happens.” Those are the ones that actually ended up landing.

Looking back, was Careerist worth it for you? This could be the bootcamp return on investment, your current salary return on investment, or personal career fulfillment. Was the program worth it for you?

Absolutely, 100%. Looking back at my college experience, I went to a state school for five years and spent about $75,000. After seven years as a dietitian, I was making $67,000.

I took a two-month bootcamp, spent $5,000, applied for jobs for six months, and my first QA job started at $65,000 – and now I'm making much more than that. The ROI is incredible.

Beyond the money, I now have flexibility. I'm in a hybrid role, I have much more time to be with my family, and I'm not driving an hour each way to work anymore. The stress is much less, and it's opened up so many more opportunities – I could become a product manager or get into management roles I never would have had access to.

I'm very happy that I made this career change.

Find out more and read Careerist on Course Report. This interview was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Careerist.