Adam Neidlinger

Ready to start your pathway to IT?

Adam Neidlinger, who studied linguistics, Spanish, French and Portuguese after he graduated high school in 2001, has focused on learning a new language at Wright College – coding.

After years of working in retail using the knowledge in interior design he learned at the Art Institute of Indianapolis, Adam was looking for something that would pay better and be more “behind the scenes.”

“I was always good at computers and tech stuff, so I looked into what careers might be a good fit. I found Wright College’s web development program – I could afford it, and I could take classes as I worked full-time,” he explained.

Adam says he made a good choice going to Wright, especially after his experiences at larger, four-year universities.

“At Wright, all of the teachers are readily available, and break everything down when you need it. Every one of the teachers I had was very willing to help with just about anything – school, curriculum, life,” said Adam.

And while he continued to work in retail, his professors told him about an opportunity he couldn’t pass up trying for – an apprenticeship at JP Morgan Chase, where he would earn a salary and benefits as he got real-world experience as a software engineer. Adam applied, and he was one of five students across the seven City Colleges that was accepted to the program in Spring of 2019. A year later, not only does Adam have his Associate of Applied Science in Information Technology: Web Development from Wright College, but a year of work experience at Chase, and now, a full-time job. As of June 2020, Adam was hired on full-time as a software engineer.

As an apprentice, he was on a production management team, which meant they were in charge of monitoring applications that had already gone into production, and more recently, he was able to write a program that helped teams within Chase communicate with team members around the world.

About his experience at Chase, Adam said, “I learned a ton of things on the job, and I also applied what I learned in the classroom at Wright. I was working on a team with other apprentices, but also with people who were already solidly in the field – we really learned a lot firsthand from our coworkers.”

Now, Adam is excited to start his full-time job at Chase this summer, happy he made the decision to go back to school at Wright College. He would like to eventually transfer to a four-year university to complete his bachelor’s degree, but will concentrate on learning all he can in his new role at Chase.

Ready to start your pathway to IT? Learn about information technology programs at City Colleges of Chicago here.