Full Stack Development Reskilling Program: Conor Rice

I started with Allstate as an Agency front line analyst in the ATSC almost 8 years ago. While there I supported Property & Casualty, Life, eAgent and was part of the Agency Desktop Reinvention team. Throughout my time in Agency frontline, the most common progression route would see analysts move to a Level 2 team with front line managers actively encouraging this career route as the best way to progress.

This wasn't the path I wanted to choose, and I discussed this with my manager during multiple development conversations. I was lucky that I had a manager that encouraged me to pursue reskilling opportunities that had come up, and I reached out to the hiring manager to learn more about them. I knew from conversations I had that the reskilling would require a large commitment on my part and I knew the interview would require a lot of preparation as it would mean moving from a Band 3 to a Band A if I was successful.

Almost two years later, I have reskilled into a Full Stack developer role in D&IS using (primarily) Java, Spring Boot, JavaScript/JSX.

The role is hugely enjoyable but does require continual learning and an ongoing commitment. No two days are the same. It's a role that offers me the challenge and variety I wanted. Being single minded in pursuing the career I wanted is really paying off.