Sarabjit Dahyia of IT Careers 4 U: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway”

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Follow Your Gut. If I had not taken the overly expensive certification courses after a college degree, maybe I wouldn’t be in a position to help millions of others out there find their career path. I wanted to take those courses (not that I wanted to be highly technical) but those courses gave me the confidence I needed to enter the IT real world vs the IT textbook world.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarabjit Dahyia

Sarabjit Dahyia is an IT Specialist, Mentor, and Founder of IT Careers 4 U. She has extensive experience building large-scale systems for renowned Fortune 500 Companies such as Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Healthcare organizations such as Centene. After decades of honing her craft, Sarabjit now guides aspiring business leaders who want to follow a clear path to a successful IT career. Her proprietary program, IT Careers 4 U has a track record of drastically helping her students increase their income in the IT industry without additional college degrees or certifications, while also providing tangible training, experience and internships that ensure their success.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you better. Can you tell us your backstory?

Growing up, I never had any career guidance. Making your way in Corporate America can be difficult and as a woman, it is harder still. Being a child of immigrant parents created many challenges. I grew up seeing the insane hours my parents worked to earn a living. I often tell people that my morals and values come from TV shows like Full House and Family Matters because my parents were always at work. I so badly wanted to earn a good living without having to work the same crazy schedules my parents had. Where other little girls dreamt of Barbie dolls and finding their Ken, I dreamt of having a high-paying job, a car, financial security, and freedom. After all, that is the American dream.

It was challenging for me to get a decent-paying job right out of school even with my college degree. It seemed to me like everyone had a connection or knew somebody, whereas I had to truly make my own path in the world of IT. Paving my own way without the guidance or support that many of my colleagues had was not only difficult but scary. The first job I got with my BS in Computer Science was with Citigroup’s Remote Access Support. As it turns out, “Remote Access Support” was just a fancy name for a team of individuals who provided help desk support to Citigroup’s investment bankers, who yelled at us anytime they couldn’t connect to WiFi, or anytime they had other issues accessing their systems remotely. I remember going into the bathroom many times and staring at myself in the mirror; in my gut, I knew that I could do better. Trusting my instinct is what gave me the motivation to talk to recruiters about other opportunities that better matched my skill set.

My very next interview was for a Junior Business Analyst role with MetLife. I had no idea what this role was or how far it would take me. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be in a help desk role. I knew I deserved better. Now, many years later I manage large-scale projects for State & Federal governments while coaching and mentoring individuals to help them find fulfilling careers that match their skill sets.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, absolutely! I’m working on getting the Business Analyst & Scrum Master 90-Day FastTrack Program training approved and certified for the Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses.

Background on the 90-Day FastTrack Program:

Business Analyst and Scrum Master roles are high paying IT positions that are needed in all industries including but not limited to healthcare, banking, and insurance. The Business Analyst (BA) and Scrum Master (SM) positions are responsible for bridging the gap between IT and the business teams using analytical techniques to determine requirements that deliver solutions to business teams and executives.

The goal and objective of the program is to provide an understanding of how IT projects are implemented as well as the role of a Business Analyst and Scrum Master during the implementation of IT projects. The course allows students to work on assignments (i.e. workflow diagrams, case diagrams, user stories, business requirement documents, test cases or test scripts) that equip them to be successful in their new roles.

Our mission is to provide practical hands-on training that accelerates the knowledge needed to be successful in the Business Analyst and Scrum Master roles and subsequently, for individuals to find full-time employment with high-paying salaries. We not only provide training but also on-the-job support for 30 days after a Business Analyst and Scrum Master role has been acquired to ensure that those in the program are set up for success.

Once the training gets certified with the VET training program, we will have the opportunity to serve the men and women who have bravely served our country. We will have the pleasure of working with veterans to help them transition into stable careers within the IT business. Nothing could make me happier than to be able to give back to our community in this way.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your organization stand out from the crowd?

We train in the areas of Software Development; specifically in the roles of Business Analyst and Scrum Master. Landmark universities such as Howard and Cornell have courses dedicated to Business Analyst and Scrum Master along with many other individual trainings. I believe our “IT” factor is more than the teaching of skill sets needed to succeed in these positions. Our system is more focused on teaching from a practical hands-on approach to how IT projects are really implemented. What do the day-to-day Business Analyst or Scrum Master roles look like, as well as how do they interact with the other team members on the project. Our training gives us the ability to bring a “live” hands-on experience by showcasing a past IT project in order to bring awareness, understanding, provide experience and most importantly, confidence to our students.

Another key element in the program that I believe sets us apart is the implementation of mindset practices. Mindset is such a powerful and underappreciated contributor to success. My favorite quote by Henry Ford is “If you think you’re right, you’re right. And if you think you’re wrong, you’re right” and to me it indicates that our beliefs shape who we are and therefore, what we can accomplish. As part of the program, we talk about mindset on a weekly basis and help students identify their roadblocks to success. Oftentimes a small shift in perspective can create pathways to success.

Lastly, I think what also makes us stand out is that our program provides On-The-Job support for 30 days after students successfully land full-time positions. The program provides training on the skill set needed in the Business Analyst and Scrum Master roles, guidance, and support until students land amazing jobs. We also provide ongoing mentorship to ensure students feel comfortable in their new positions.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

After being in the IT industry for 15 years, I had a burning desire to help others in this lucrative domain. I wanted to teach Business Analyst (BA), Scrum Master (SM), and Project Management (PM) roles for two reasons. First, not everyone I worked with knew how to perform well in these roles. I often found myself coaching or mentoring my peers on how to get the job done well, or teaching what my approach was in a given scenario. I realized everyone in the Business Analyst and Scrum Master roles ended up in these positions because of their knowledge within the business domains, but they didn’t necessarily have the formal training on how to “implement IT systems/applications”. Of course, there is lots of textbook knowledge, articles on Google, and videos on YouTube that talk about these roles, but unless you have exposure to an end-to-end IT project, it becomes hard to do well in these positions.

Second, I also saw the potential to help women and minorities in these roles. Over my 15+ years of experience in this field, I haven’t worked with too many women of color, Hispanics, or African Americans. I realize that because there are not many Hispanics or African Americans in IT, it naturally limits the exposure to the vast number of roles available in this business. Most people shy away from IT because they think it requires coding or programming, which is by far the biggest misconception. Business Analyst, Scrum Master, and Project Management are among the many roles that don’t require any coding or programming skillset. My goal and hope is to bring more awareness to these business roles and enable more women and minorities into these careers choices.

After realizing these two aspects, I decided I wanted to create a unique program that would bridge the gap by providing hands-on training and experience to help women and minorities in the IT domain. However, anytime I spoke with my colleagues about wanting to teach these roles, I would get the same question — “Why? There are dozens of people teaching this stuff and there’s no money in it. You are great at what you do, so do what you’re good at.” I was both disheartened and bothered by these comments. I wanted to create a training program that was based on practical knowledge to help anyone fully understand the role without actually being in it. Despite the naysayers that is exactly what I did.

I began training for free on my FB Group (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BAInDemand/) and people from all over the world joined the group. Because I didn’t want my training to overlap with my daytime job, I would wake up every Saturday at 6 AM to hold live sessions on various topics within the Business Analyst & Scrum Master domains. Most of my peers thought I was crazy for holding a full-time job while being a mom of 3, and adding to that time to train and engage with people during my “off hours.” At the end of the day, supporting people in their career journeys felt like the most amazing piece of my life. For that reason I continued to train and teach until one day, I decided it was time to build a full course. To date, I have helped 200+ individuals transition into high-paying jobs in the Business Analyst & Scrum Master roles with my practical hands-on training. My program has been endorsed by IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) and I am an authorized Training Partner for Scrum Study.

At first, I didn’t even share my training program with friends, peers, or extended family. It was my own little secret because I was afraid of getting “judged.” However, after seeing the positive ripple effects my training efforts have made on my students and their families, I now believe that what I do is definitely worth sharing.😊

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? :-)

My ideas on how I wanted to train were always different. It took a lot of trial and error to find the right approach and I have to be grateful for the naysayers and for those who didn’t believe in me. The naysayers actually forced me to work harder and think about how to structure the program in such a way that it would provide skillet, experience, and mentorship. There were times when my husband and kids would say “do you ever think or talk about anything else? LOL”. I remember going on my morning walks every day thinking about how to make the program better. I was on a mission to create something really amazing that would be of benefit to others. During my journey of “figuring things out,” my training program was:

• Endorsed by IIBA (one of thousand worldwide)
• Authorized Trainer by Scrum Study

I have also gained international YouTube subscribers of 6.5K, as well as an international Facebook following of 5.5k on my Facebook Group. All of this happened from simply sharing my knowledge and love for the software development domain and my experience in implementing large-scale systems and applications. I get messages almost daily about how much my free content has helped make a difference to others. For me that’s enough.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My husband Harpreet Dahyia has been my greatest cheerleader from the day we met. He is able to see qualities in me that I didn’t even think existed. Harpreet is a visionary and I was more of an “I’ll believe it when I see it” type of person. When we married, I used to think that I would be the breadwinner because I had a killer resume and amazing experience under my belt. However, a few years after we got married, Harpreet turned a sinking business into a multi-million dollar food franchise right in front of everyone’s eyes. It goes without saying that it was a lot of hard work and grit, especially since he had zero experience in the food industry or franchising, but he still did it. He took every challenge that came his way and turned it around.

Harpreet’s success gave me the motivation to launch something that I truly believed in. Being a product of immigrant parents, I had no mentors or direction on what to do with my career. I wanted to create a program that could help young adults like me succeed, and also have a support system in place to help me make it into Corporate America. And of course, Harpreet being the visionary that he is always encouraged me to keep going for my dreams.

It must have not been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

Yes, of course. When I graduated college it was the boom of the .com industry. An industry that was doing amazingly well when I started college; 4 years later it was one of the worst industries to be in. I found it very hard to get a decent-paying job right out of school, even with my college degree. Disappointed yet never losing hope, I attended a Career Fair organized by my university. At that fair, I met with a company that provided training and certifications such as A++, Networking, etc. The cost was $10K and as a broke college student, I decided to pay for it with my credit card.

All of my friends in college thought I was crazy! But I knew there had to be a better way than settling for any job like most of my colleagues in college did. I decided to continue working my 3 part-time jobs (on campus, at Macys, and as a receptionist at a Real Estate company) and started taking the tech courses in the evening. Those courses provided me with hands-on experience and helped me land my first position with Citigroup’s Remote Access Support. From Citigroup I moved onto MetLife as a Junior Business Analyst and it was there that my career took off.

Had I listened to my college friends and not invested the 10K on myself, I’m not sure my career would be where it is now. I truly believe we are a product of the choices we make in life and therefore, it makes me really glad I chose to invest in myself.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

Nothing exciting comes from following the rules and doing what you’re told. Think about your favorite restaurants, for example. They might do something a little different in order to stand out. That’s how I believe life should be approached. I use the following 5 strategies in my own life. I hope they spare some light in the lives of our readers.

1. Follow Your Gut. If I had not taken the overly expensive certification courses after a college degree, maybe I wouldn’t be in a position to help millions of others out there find their career path. I wanted to take those courses (not that I wanted to be highly technical) but those courses gave me the confidence I needed to enter the IT real world vs the IT textbook world.
2. Learn From Your Mistakes. Mistakes are an opportunity to learn and do better going forward. The more you learn, the better you do. Early on in my career I didn’t realize how critical it was to test applications before letting your business teams test them. After testing was successfully completed by our Quality Assurance Analyst, I would simply work with our Business Team to manage User Acceptance Testing (UAT). In one of my projects, UAT was such a disaster that I was ashamed to put my name on the project documentation. Now, after getting the thumbs-up from the Quality Assurance teams I make it my priority to test functionality before handing it over to UAT which gives me an opportunity to fix anything that requires a change and to also support my business teams better during testing efforts.
3. Goal Setting — Eat That Frog. I recently heard on Audible a book called “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy and it changed the way I work. I have always been a big “to-do list’’ type of person, but this book helped me prioritize the most important items (AKA eat the ugly frog first) as the book recommends.
4. Gather Feedback. While it’s extremely difficult to gather feedback from stakeholders, customers and students on how I’m doing, it’s something that has helped me craft and improve my skills even more. Gathering feedback on what’s working as well as what’s not working allows me to continue growing and evolving, whether I’m leading a multi-million dollar project or conducting a training session. Feedback is critical to success for every role and every business. Sometimes it can be difficult to listen to feedback, but at that moment you have to decide:
5. Is it personal?
6. Is it true? And if it’s true — you owe it to yourself to find a better approach.
7. Rinse and Repeat. As you grow in your career or business, there will be many events that shake you or leave you feeling uncertain. Following your gut, learning from your mistakes, goal setting, and gathering feedback are the key determining factors that will allow you to keep moving forward.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

“Either be the victim of your circumstance or be the result of it.”

I have gone through many hardships in life as many others out there. My past or my trauma does not make me different or unique. What makes me different is how I choose to keep moving forward. During the most difficult time in my life, I read a book that had the quote “Either be the victim of your circumstances or be the result of it” which motivated me to get up and keep going because I wanted to be the result of my circumstances. I wanted to hold my head up high and tell the world that I did it despite all the “ish” stacked up against me. And I am proud of having done just that.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I often think about what kind of impact I want my life to have. I want to create an environment where we strive to provide opportunities for individuals that best meet their skill sets. One where skill-based training is available, instead of only “4-year college” which guarantees nothing. That is not to say I am against college and universities. I just feel like they should do more to provide the real-world experience that students need to get hired into fulfilling jobs that match their skills. This is the reason I created a training program that provides hands-on experience in the roles of Business Analyst and Scrum Master. It allows students to successfully transition into high-paying roles after they’ve completed training, giving them better job opportunities, a positive work-life balance, and a higher pay. That also gives their kids the chance to grow up with parents who are present, happy, and living their own American dream. Who knew that a petite brown woman like me could do so much!

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Of course! I can be found on the following platforms:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/InDemandBusinessAnalyst (6.2K subscribers)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarabjit-dahyia-pmp-mba-21b0196/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BAInDemand

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

The pleasure is all mine. It has been an honor to share my story with you and the readers and I hope to inspire them to keep going with their vision, mission and dreams.