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How Rachell was able to change careers while traveling the world
Meet Rachell, a passionate life long learner who is constantly pushing herself to new heights with Coursera. Rachell is originally from Michigan, but is truly a world citizen, having traveled to many countries while taking several courses in management and programming. Follow along to discover how she was able to switch from teaching to engineering, pick up new hobbies, and enroll in a Masters of Applied Data Science program to further her career.
Hi, I’m Rachell! I have always been someone who challenges myself to raise the bar and reach new goals. From professional development, changing careers, preparing for grad school, or even improving my hobby skills, I always find a good excuse to hop back into Coursera.
My learner journey started a few years ago. I felt stagnant in my teaching career, and was ready to make a change. After some research, I stumbled upon Coursera and decided to take a few classes in classroom management for professional development. After completing several courses, I enrolled in a programming course which made me consider a career change. I was living in Seoul, South Korea at this time, and as luck would have it, I was able to find other like-minded learners interested in Python.
We met every weekend for over a year taking various courses on Coursera to improve our Python programming skills. Because of Coursera and this community, I gained technical skills that gave me the confidence to pursue a new career.
The ability to learn remotely, along with the availability of supplemental courses, led to my success in the Masters of Applied Data Science with the University of Michigan on the Coursera platform. It is very fitting that the first programming course I took, Python for Everybody, was taught by Charles Severance, who later would become one of my professors in grad school.
After building up my portfolio and earning valuable new credentials, I began applying to jobs. I’m proud to say that I’m now officially a software engineer!
Learning on Coursera is a very individual experience, in that you get out what you put in. Some features that I love are the async learning, controlling the speed of videos, and searchable transcripts. There is no way these features could be replicated in the classroom, and having these abilities not only improves accessibility for non-native English speakers or the hearing impaired, but makes a better experience for all.
It feels like I have been hustling for the better part of a decade now. I’ve learned programming, changed careers, and just recently completed my Masters. Now, I’m working on making time for my hobbies like salsa dancing and playing the guitar. I signed up for a guitar course on–you guessed it–Coursera.
I am also excited to get back to being more involved in community events and organizing. My passion for education is not just in learning, but also in teaching and empowering those around me. I am getting involved in local PyLadies and Django Girls events. I also plan to continue work on my graduate capstone project that aims to measure upward mobility across the U.S. with Citizen Labs, a local civic hacking group.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Coursera has changed my life–not just for me but also for my family. It provided a pathway for upward mobility because I was able to change careers from what I learned as well as pursue hobbies that I love.
For anyone seeking advice on how to succeed using Coursera, remember these things:
- Consistency is key to success.
- Show up, do the work, and repeat until you get it.
- Rewatch the videos if you need to.
- Reach out for help in the course discussion forum.
- Don’t be afraid to repeat a course, or even find another course that teaches with a different approach. Keep going until it clicks.
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Changes to the Coursera team
Earlier today, Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda shared the following email with Coursera employees:
Courserians,
My 25 years as a CEO have included some pretty rough times – the dot com bubble bursting, the 2008 financial crisis, and a global lockdown. While macroeconomic challenges are always tough, I know from experience that it’s most painful when those factors impact people’s livelihoods.
During a recent Town Hall, I said that we, like many companies, are navigating lower growth rates and environmental uncertainty and need to make whatever changes are needed – including reducing headcount expenses. I’m sad to share that in order to slow our rate of spending, we have made the difficult decision to reduce the size of our team.
At this time, we have notified all impacted employees via 1:1 conversations with their managers and senior leadership. There are countries such as the UK and Australia where laws and regulations require a consultation period – employees who are participating in that process have also been notified.
To say this is a tough and emotional day for Courserians would be an understatement, and I will provide as much clarity as possible about this decision in this email. Tomorrow we will also have three regional Town Halls where the executive leadership team will answer your questions. You will receive a calendar invite shortly with a Slido link to submit and upvote questions.
All organizations and regions across the company have been impacted to some extent, which means this loss will be felt by all of us. Our first priority is to make sure that impacted team members are treated with the respect and gratitude they deserve, and supported in every way possible through this difficult transition.
This week is about giving everyone the space to process and grieve. Next week, we’ll have a separate session to talk about where we’re headed. Let me step back and explain why and how we made the decision, how we’re supporting impacted employees, and what’s next for us as a team.
Why and how did we make this decision?
During our annual financial planning process, the executive team reviewed our growth opportunities and evaluated our investments for Q4 and the coming year. While the long-term outlook for Coursera remains promising, a deteriorating macroeconomic environment has forced us to sharpen our focus, prioritize our investments, and optimize our structure and operations.
Almost every growth company is a story of change. There are periods when top line growth provides the resources and reason to invest aggressively and grow the team quickly, and then there are periods where you need to slow the pace of spending and focus effort on fewer initiatives with less aggressive investment. 2020 was a moment of extraordinary expansion as our business was propelled by customer demand during the pandemic. And we’re entering a different chapter now.
Earlier this year, we revised our growth forecast and took a series of actions to pace our investments and resources with our new outlook. Despite our attempts to avoid headcount reductions in the last six months, including pausing hiring, minimizing consulting spend, and reducing more discretionary non-people budgets, we had to make the difficult decision to reduce our workforce in order to stay on track to fulfill our mission and scale sustainably in the long term.
Company OKRs in 2023 will reflect increased focus and leverage. We are reducing resources in the areas that we are no longer pursuing as a company and doubling down on mission-critical areas that resonate in the market, reinforce our unique value propositions, and build on our vision of serving learners from MOOCs to degrees and jobs. We’re combining teams and unifying products and technology to get more leverage out of the assets we have. We’ve done our best to map reductions according to the capabilities we’ll need to support our business strategy next year and beyond.
How are we supporting impacted employees?
We know this decision impacts employees’ livelihoods, and we are committed to providing as much support as we can during this difficult transition. The global separation package totals 4 months of pay (plus additional pay based on role and tenure), healthcare coverage for up to four months, which varies by country, and job placement assistance via Randstad RiseSmart.
We have also created a Coursera Alumni Talent Hub for impacted employees who want to opt-in. As a B Corp, Coursera attracts some of the world’s best mission-driven talent and I know that any organization would be lucky to have Coursera alumni join their team.
What’s our path forward?
As I reflect on our time since the pandemic, I am so proud of the ways Courserians have delivered above and beyond to respond to the uncertainty in the world around us. We met the moment of the pandemic, helping tens of millions of people around the world access high-quality education at a time when it was most needed.
Today, Coursera serves over 110 million learners, 275 partners, and 7,000 institutions in virtually all corners of the world. Every team member helped bring this vision to life. To those leaving, I want to thank you for your many tireless contributions to serve our mission. You were a critical part of Coursera’s journey and your legacy will be felt by our learners, partners, and customers for many years to come.
Changes like this are never easy. We understand that it will take time for all of us to grieve and transition. As an organization and as an executive leadership team, we are still learning, changing, and growing. While I regret that we have to say goodbye to many beloved Courserians, I know that we’re entering this next chapter with more clarity and focus than ever. We must work proactively, decisively, and together to meet this new moment in time.
I spent the last few months meeting with regional customers, partners, learners, and of course, many of you. I continue to be inspired by the talent and warmth of our team, and it is clear to me that no company is better positioned than Coursera to succeed both as a company and as a group of people joined in the cause of serving the world through learning. But our work is far from over.
I would like to thank each of you for your tenacity, compassion, and commitment to shaping a future where anyone, anywhere has access to high-quality learning that unlocks opportunity in the new digital economy.
Jeff
Our 8th Annual Student Review Contest
We invite students to play critic and submit an original review about any kind of creative expression covered in The New York Times. Contest open from Nov. 16 to Dec. 14.
Meet the first graduates of the Global Master of Public Health
Discover the latest worldwide impact of an internationally recognized institution.
The first graduates of the Global Master of Public Health program from Imperial College London have a great deal to celebrate. They are officially alumni from one of the top 10 universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2023). And, they are not only a vanguard group that will forever be associated with this milestone, but they are proud members of an Imperial academic community that spans over 140 countries. As we join them in celebrating their accomplishments, we’d like to share some thoughts from the graduates themselves about how earning their degree on Coursera is impacting their lives and careers.
“I joined UNICEF Egypt as a Communication for Development officer and decided to pursue formal public health training. Imperial’s reputation and impact on public health research and policy worldwide encouraged me to avidly follow the Coursera announcement page long before applications opened. I also liked that the program was able to make use of what online learning has to offer. As a student, you still get a good sense of the Imperial experience and enjoy being part of a truly global student community.” (Maram Salem, Germany)
“Imperial’s School of Public Health has a good reputation in health intelligence and health research. Having completed another data science specialization on Coursera, I felt comfortable with that aspect of the program. Lastly, my English colleagues had good things to say about Imperial. The benefit of studying online was the flexibility to complete the degree while remaining employed. Beyond maintaining an income while studying, I was able to apply learning in several Specializations directly to research conducted at work.” (James Staib, United States)
“Before enrolling, I was conducting voluntary research in support of Palestinian science and editing my own Palestinian international academic medical journal. I enjoyed meeting teachers and students from different parts of the world while earning this degree. I gained knowledge about public health and other key disciplines such as biostatistics, epidemiology, infectious disease modeling, and relevant research. Since completing the program, I’ve been pursuing collaborative research in the area of structural bioinformatics, worked as an associate editor for a global academic health journal and currently work as content acquisition specialist for a global academic publishing company.” (Haitham Idriss, United Kingdom)
Many of those in this historic inaugural graduating class who earned their degrees online were able to attend the ceremonies in person at the Royal Albert Hall. By coming together in this way, they made clear that a lifelong community of learners is not defined by location, but by a shared commitment to advancing their lives and careers through learning.
No matter where you are in the world, you can access world-class programs like the Global Master of Public Health to achieve your unique life and career goals. Start exploring new opportunities on Coursera today.
