When I first read RareJob’s vision of “Chances for everyone, everywhere” in its company profile, I found it to be vague. It was naïve, even. Well, that’s what I thought.

Until I myself was given a chance.

And when it comes to chances, it actually matters not if you are given one.

Chances are sought.

I have a degree in Education. If my career was to be defined by my degree, I should now be in school teaching Math to high school students. However, like the students I’ve taught, I still found myself eager to learn. Since I haven’t yet satisfied my craving for learning, I was searching for chances to immerse myself in other fields. Programming is one of them.

The chance to become a programmer didn’t come to me on a silver platter, nor in an invitation. It came to me in a JobStreet ad. After months of searching, I finally found my chance: in its unceasing effort to fulfill its vision, RareJob offered its first IT Coding Bootcamp. It even came with a career opportunity.

Some chances are too good to be true, so I verified this first with a friend. She confirmed most of what was written in the ad, but I was skeptic of some details. Despite my doubts, it was still the best chance I’ve found so far. As for knowing if it was any good, there was only one way to find out.

I applied.

Chances have risks.

Starting over means what you have achieved so far may not be recognized or valued in your chosen path. For us Bootcampers, this meant being a trainee all over again and facing uncertainty whether we can land a career in the IT industry or not.
We found ourselves facing different challenges. Some of us were learning how to code with limited to no background. Some of us faced long and haggard commutes to get to the office. Some of us engaged in sidelines to finance our expenses while we were training.

But most of us pushed through. We faced the risks and challenges, and focused on our goals.

We graduated.

Chances have rewards.

Today, Mae, Dan, and I work in RareJob as Systems Engineers. Mae is scheduled to go to Japan this year to train and work with our Japanese counterparts; Dan is working with a team of developers on one of the company’s new products, and I am working on systems improvement of our existing pages. Despite the many challenges, we love what we do. In fact, we recently just celebrated our first year here in RareJob. We’re enjoying.

Chances are choices.

You can always turn down opportunities when they aren’t suitable for you or your current situation. And sometimes, in a world full of distractions, saying “No” is the best option.

But when a chance catches your eye, when its rewards excite you, and the risks and challenges scare you because you know you have to be a better version of your current self to face and overcome them, why not take a leap?

And when it comes to chances, it actually matters not if you are given one – it matters whether you take it or not. Looking back, I can no longer imagine what life might have been if I didn’t take the chance I’ve been given.

So take a chance.