How a business analyst fast tracked job growth and a raise
His career pivot opened a world of opportunity with free online learning.
Chad LeBlanc’s new business analyst role allows him better work-life balance. Photo credit: Eli Hiller
When Chad LeBlanc and his wife moved to Indianapolis in 2018, LeBlanc was eager for a career change. After spending nearly two decades in retail, he was working as a trainer for a travel company’s contact center when a higher-level business analyst role opened up. LeBlanc jumped at the opportunity to transfer his retail management experience to this new field—even though he didn’t necessarily have the technical skills for the job.
But what LeBlanc wasn’t expecting was how complicated the technical ramp-up would be. In his new role as an analyst, he works closely with developers, so he needed technical know-how such as understanding code and other aspects of the systems they build. He also needed project management skills. “Getting to the position I’m at now required a lot of extra expertise in the base systems that we use on a day-to-day basis,” LeBlanc explains. “It was a little bit more of a challenge, which was kind of nice. I like to take on that challenge.”
Searching online, LeBlanc discovered the free resources available from Verizon Skill Forward. He dove into courses on coding, data science, data management and the project management processes Agile and Scrum, used by many developers. “The very first class I took was an Agile learning class,” LeBlanc says of a course offered by the University of Maryland. “I knew it was a really great course right out of the gate because it was in-depth, it was interactive and it was very engaging.”
LeBlanc was quickly enticed by the possibilities of a year of free Verizon Skill Forward education; he has taken 14 courses so far, including coding coursework that he has applied on the job. “Now I’m into HTML, CSS, JavaScript—and it was, I would say, a good rabbit hole to fall into,” LeBlanc says. “It really helps with my job currently, because I get to work closely with my development team and really understand where they’re coming from.”
This newly acquired expertise, supported by the twelve certifications LeBlanc has earned, has already proven valuable. His enhanced knowledge enables him to collaborate independently with other departments, a skill that management has recognized and rewarded. As LeBlanc shared, this led to a significantly larger raise: double the amount he would have otherwise received.
LeBlanc, who had completed one year of community college before jumping into the workforce 20 years ago, is now dedicated to continuing his education with advanced coursework. After working from home all week with his dog, Coda, nestled at his feet, LeBlanc switches focus on the weekends to Verizon Skill Forward. “I usually dedicate at least one day each weekend to studying for about six hours,” he says. “It makes me really focus and dive into what I’m learning.”
With that level of dedication, LeBlanc sees even more possibilities on the horizon. “What I've been able to explore using these programs has opened up a world of opportunities that I'd never even thought was possible,” he says.
Verizon has a goal of helping 50,000 individuals prepare for jobs of the future by 2030, offering technical and professional pathways to accelerate skill building for in-demand tech careers. The Verizon Skill Forward program offers tuition-free training to help people advance their careers and improve their economic mobility. Participants can access more than 250 courses spanning 84 unique professional certificate programs to pursue high growth jobs across the in-demand areas of AI, business, coding, communication, finance, IT and more. To sign up or learn more, visit Verizon Skill Forward. An individual user's experience may vary and results are not guaranteed.
