A former bartender from Greater Houston dropped out of college and became a certified Salesforce administrator, which helped her secure a high-paying job of $70,000. She later switched to a startup, where she is currently earning a lucrative salary of $100,000.
Hannah Maruyama, a 29-year-old former bartender now earns over $100,000 in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) despite having no college degree or diploma. In an interview with CNBC, she discussed her journey from being a college dropout to making her way into the technology sector.
Hannah was a student of Georgia Southern University, but stopped going after she felt 'bored'. She knew that leaving college was going to restrict her career options, but life had other plans for her.
During her 20s she worked as a lifeguard, a bartender, and a deckhand on a dolphin-watching boat. But all these jobs were low-paying and she never made over $30,000 per year. Exploring her options, she started a cosmetic tattoo shop with her husband but it later got shut down due to covid. She also lost her call centre job she was doing on the side to earn some extra cash.
Hopeless and disheartened, she turned to the internet to look for some new opportunities. She asked on Quora and Reddit and stumbled upon a piece of advice that tech certificates are required to get a lucrative job in the field. She took a course that promised a job with a pay of $70,000 or more after just 4 weeks of joining. The courses cost $300 for 3 months and she finished it and became a Salesforce certified administrator.
From there she bagged a job as a Salesforce developer at a business management company in Honululu and was getting $70,000. “Even if I didn’t meet the educational requirements, I applied and would note in my application or during the interview that I’ll learn anything I need to as quickly as I can,” she said. Most of these positions do not ask for college degrees but rather focus on the technical and learning skills of the candidates.
Hannah also has a TikTok account named @degreefree on which she educates and informs young job-seekers about different ways to secure a high-paying job without a college degree. She also recently changed her job and started working in a startup where her salary is now $100,000.
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