Tech Careers

I Took the LEAP (Program) and Here’s Where I Am Now

Hear about Sam's experience in Fidelity's LEAP program

September 26, 2022 3 minute read

By Samantha, User Experience Designer

Hey there! I’m Sam. After graduating college, I kick-started my career with Fidelity in something I was passionate about—or so I thought at the time. In my journey, I quickly learned that passions change as you have new experiences, and with a supportive company and endless opportunities, that’s okay! Follow along as I share how I’m continuing to Find My Fidelity.

It all started in 2019 when I began my career as an Associate Software Engineer in the LEAP program.

The LEAP Program is a four-month Fidelity training experience offered to new and recent college graduates with the purpose of further education in technical and professional development. This opportunity helped me to advance my skills and knowledge in software engineering while being surrounded by like-minded peers from around the country. The time we spent together flew by and I was proud to walk away with more technical confidence and a network of LEAP associates who I keep in touch with today.

I began my role in the Rhode Island office and quickly worked toward my project goals. A day-in-the-life for me consisted of identifying areas of opportunity and introducing new software which improved workflows on an organizational level. After doing this for some time and becoming a subject matter expert (SME), I found myself wanting to do something different. I heard stories about how the company culture promotes and celebrates internal mobility, so I knew other exciting opportunities were out there for me.

In 2020, I transitioned into a developer position supporting Salesforce, which is a customer relationship management platform. I was excited to begin working on new development because it had been my goal for so long. In this role, I helped with new feature development and component designs. While in this position, I kept gravitating to problem solving through design tasks. The feeling I had toward those was the same feeling I had when I worked on my creative hobbies and passions outside of work.

LEAP Program

What if I fail? What if it’s not what I thought it was? I just studied Computer Science for years, was all of that for nothing?

Time passed and the thought of UX design kept popping back into my head

I began networking with UX designers within Fidelity asking them about their experiences and anything that would help me decide if the career switch was something that would suit me. I communicated my thoughts with my manager and received boundless support. The more conversations I had out loud, I found my thoughts began to change. “What if I succeed? What if this is meant for me?” After all, who can expect high school graduates to pick something to study that will be exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives? So, there I was, once again shifting my career path.

Toward the end of 2021, my manager advocated on my behalf and found out that our organization could have room for a role if I truly believe UX Design is the right direction for me. This opportunity would allow me to utilize my experience in technology to create a better user experience for our internal users, while incorporating my new visual design talent. After finalizing my decision and expressing it to my manager, the organization allowed me to start the new year in 2022 working as a trial UX Designer to give both the business and me time to understand if our visions aligned.

As of July 2022, I would like to reintroduce myself. Hello there!

I’m Sam. A college graduate who joined Fidelity in hopes to find my true passion and a career I love, and I’ve done just that. I am now, officially, a User Experience Designer who spends each day doing what I feel I am meant to be doing. I have no doubt my passions will continue to change as time passes, and in the meantime, this is my Fidelity. Want to Find Your Fidelity? First step, apply to one of our many tech opportunities.