It has always been Yellow Tail Tech’s mission to help individuals with little-to-no IT backgrounds smoothly break into the tech industry and become confident, job-ready IT professionals. Over the years, our approach to building infrastructure that supports career transformation has matured significantly—especially as demand rises across critical infrastructure sectors like cloud, broadband, and cybersecurity.
In the past year alone, Yellow Tail Tech has reached major milestones. We were named the 2022 Best Coding Bootcamp by College Consensus, maintain nearly 5-star reviews on trusted platforms such as Course Report, Career Karma, and SwitchUp, and continue to lead as the only Red Hat Training Partner and a proud AWS Training Partner. This recognition reflects our commitment to creating a talent pipeline that supports not only the private sector but also publicly owned systems in dire need of IT professionals to maintain and innovate America’s infrastructure.
It takes a flawless infrastructure investments we’ve upgraded our training programs to align with national efforts toward economic development, greenhouse gas reduction, and climate change adaptation. Whether it’s supporting better internet infrastructure, public transportation, or modern data systems, our mission remains to empower people to become the future workforce behind these transformations. Although the credit for our milestones goes to the collective effort of each and everyone that makes up the Yellow Tail Tech team, there’s one man that’s worth honorably mentioning: Thierry Louis, our current Infrastructure Director.
Success-Bound at First Sight: When Thierry Met Yellow Tail Tech
Thiery was taking up his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, working as a Data Center Technician, and an Uber driver until a friend of a friend recommended Yellow Tail Tech to him and how it can help him level up in the IT industry supporting national infrastructure. “He (that friend) actually set up a meeting to meet Jubee and Paloma (our co-founders). After meeting them both, it makes sense why Yellow Tail Tech was the perfect fit for me. I had to do my research, and discuss the opportunities with my wife, then I signed up as a student.”
Student Life and Falling in Love with Teaching
During his days as a student, Thierry shared that he fell in love with the process easily. He was able to quickly absorb and understand the lectures because of Yellow Tail Tech’s teaching methods focused on systems thinking, project-based learning, and community support made complex topics digestible. He then started helping his fellow cohort mates over the weekends and met outside of class hours whenever they could. “Right after I got certified, I knew that the next thing for me is to let Jubee know that I’m interested in becoming a TA (Teacher Assistant), and the rest is history.”
Choosing to Become an Instructor
As for the reason why he made up his mind to join Yellow Tail Tech as an instructor, Thierry told us that there were many considerable factors to enumerate.
“First, I really enjoyed being part of the Yellow Tail Tech community. As someone who was new to Linux at the time, having people around you who have only one goal, which is the success of the students, was very encouraging.
Second was the sense of fulfillment when someone gets certified or gets a job—no word can explain that feeling. I always see myself helping others change their life, and this is what Yellow Tail Tech is about as well, so it was an easy decision to join the team.
Finally, being an instructor actually challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and helped me work on my public speaking skills.” As someone who has English as a second language, Thierry testifies that the experience helped him to overcome the fear he had of speaking in front of groups of people.
Advancing to Infrastructure Director
Thierry’s path to becoming Infrastructure Director was the result of consistent growth, learning, and strategic implementation within Yellow Tail Tech’s evolving IT infrastructure.
“Jubee and I worked on various infrastructure projects—from curriculum design to improving lab facilities and strengthening our core IT infrastructure. I gradually grew into the role, identifying what could be improved to enhance training outcomes and align with real-world infrastructure systems.”
He accepted the role knowing the team was behind him.
“That trust gave me the confidence to lead, to innovate, and to fail forward.”
Now in his fifth year, Thierry proudly says, “I will always be a Yellow Tailer.”
Staying Ahead of the Curve: Yellow Tail Tech Style
As Infrastructure Director, Thierry’s responsibility includes integrating emerging technologies to prepare students for roles in managing the critical infrastructure our country depends on.
“I have learned over my decade of experience in this industry that technology moves fast, with most powerful certifications having only a minimum of 3 years relevancy. I have to lead by example by making sure that me and members of my team stay innovative and relevant to what the new technology Red Hat and AWS are working on.”
Thierry then expounds that the main factors he looks at when developing and keeping the current curriculum competitively relevant are:
It’s digestibility to our students
“I always put myself in my audience’s shoes, as if I’m seeing this information for the first time. To meet their level of understanding of this new technology, I have to make sure the final content is in bit sizes so it’s easy to consume.”
Aligned to Yellow Tail Tech’s Airtight Framework
“As subject matter experts in the industry, we have to work our way backwards to deliver a program that is airtight where we don’t leave anything to chance and in the process, make sure that our students understand the foundation of IT and speak like an IT professional.”
Demands the students be resourceful
“We don’t train one trick pony. Our curriculum is designed to develop our student’s curiosity and figure out things on their own. As we know each environment is different from the other, we train IT professionals who can assess an issue and come up with the best solution.”
Bringing Real-World IT Into the Classroom
On top of this, Thierry adds that Yellow Tail Tech have “its eyes and ears on the street, and all of our instructors and assistants are practicing IT professionals at the same time so they can bring real-world experience into the classroom.” This is why when scouting instructors (which 95% are graduates of programs by the way), our Infrastructure Director has three uncompromisable qualities: Subject Matter Expert who has earned RHCSA and/or the AWS Sysops Certification, has charismatic leadership to guide our students to success, and genuinely passionate to change people’s lives.
No Dull Moments at Yellow Tail Tech
As this segment echoes, Thierry brags that “there’s no dull moment in Yellow Tail Tech. Aside from having an amazing team, the best thing about working here, overall, is witnessing our students’s success. This gives me validation that our hard work is not in vain.”
Memorable Moments and Lasting Impact
He then shares that his most memorable experience was having this particular moment with our student. “I reached out to congratulate one of our students upon completing the program, and he told me that Yellow Tail Tech unlocked something in him. Not only did we change his life for the best but also the experience showed him that he can do anything because coming here he did not know anything about IT.”
For our current students, his advice is “to stick to our process, ask questions and be resourceful. You are steps away from getting your dream job.” As for those who want to break into Tech but still have doubts on where to start, his only words of wisdom are to “do your research on what you want to do in IT, find a program with a framework that can take you from zero to Job ready without skipping the fundamentals, and dedicate yourself to a schedule to put in the work.”
Ready to Experience Yellow Tail Tech’s Infrastructure?
If you’re ready to transition into tech, regardless of your background, Yellow Tail Tech offers the systems, training, and support to take you from zero knowledge to job-ready. Our programs reflect national workforce needs, and we’re proud to contribute to training the next wave of professionals who will help manage and secure the public and private infrastructures that keep the country running.
Take it from Thierry:
“I tried different paths until I found Yellow Tail Tech. Our programs are clear, structured, and results-driven. Most importantly, we’ve built a team that’s with you every step of the way. If you’re ready to put in the work, this is the right place to start your transformation.”
Book a 10-minute intro call with our Enrollment Advisor today and begin your journey toward a career in the infrastructure of the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What makes Yellow Tail Tech’s training different from other bootcamps?
Our programs follow an airtight framework built on systems thinking, project-based learning, and community support. Every instructor is a practicing IT professional, and most of them are Yellow Tail Tech graduates who understand the student journey. - What certifications can I earn through Yellow Tail Tech?
Students can prepare for industry-recognized certifications including the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) and AWS SysOps Administrator Associate, which are highly valued in the tech industry. - How long does it take to become job-ready with Yellow Tail Tech?
The timeline depends on the program, but most students transition from beginners to job-ready IT professionals within several months of consistent study and practice.
