Meet Shaun Ochsner – Asher College Success Story

Shaun Ochsner is an Asher College success story. Shaun has served in the United States military since graduating from high school 16 years ago. As a military serviceman, he has always been around electronics, and worked mostly as a radio repairman. But once technology evolved, so did his job. Eventually he began working with computers.

With his many years of experience in information technology, Shaun didn’t think he would have a difficult time finding employment in the civilian world. But the opposite was true.

“After my last deployment, it was extremely hard for me to find a job. On job applications they would ask for experience and certifications. I had a lot of experience, but I didn’t have any certifications,” said Ochsner. “I figured that in order to get anywhere I needed to go back to school and get my certifications.”

Shaun began attending Anthem College in 2014. Three months later, the college closed its doors. Not letting this deter him, Shaun began to look for other options. A former staffer at Anthem called Shaun and told him to look into Asher College. Shaun visited the campus and enrolled the same day.

“It ended up being a blessing,” said Ochsner. “After talking to Asher College, I realized that the courses I would have taken at Anthem College would have just been a waste of my time. I would have wasted a year and a half of my GI bill and would not have gotten any certifications out of it. I now know the random computer courses I was taking at Anthem would have been laughed at in the computer world.”

Shaun began attending Asher in November 2014. He said the transition was easy and staff was really helpful in pointing students in the right direction.

“Asher is not a traditional, structured environment. At first it was really different because it was on me to do my studying and learn the materials. But Asher adheres to people’s different learning styles and the staff and instructors were really helpful. And they have a great veterans representative who works to help accommodate the needs that military and veterans have,” said Ochsner.

Shaun will graduate in November 2016 with an Associate of Applied Science in Computer Specialist and Networking Technology. He earned five certifications that were front loaded in his program. These consisted of his CompTIA A+, Network+, Linux+, and his Microsoft Windows 7 Configuring and Active Directory. He says these helped him land the IT job he has now at the California Army National Guard where he works as a Help Desk Support Technician for the financial department.

“Asher College is a great place to start to get your foot into the IT world,” said Ochsner. ”Other schools take people for $50,000, and they aren’t getting any type of certifications and are at a disadvantage when they go and apply for jobs. I know. I was in that situation.”