Zac Otero went from labor jobs to becoming a Salesforce admin through determination and hard work. The video follows his career transition, featuring insights from people who know his journey and the obstacles he overcame to break into tech.
I want to go to life for my kids. And they say money can't buy you happiness, but at a certain point it can buy you some time with your kids. And that's pretty darn close. My grandparents were survivors of the great depression, and it was always communicated to me to consider work a blessing. Yeah, all over Lamar, Missouri, it was a great place to grow up. Low crime rate, good people, salt of the earth. I mean, just hard work of midwesterners. Here's my little house I used to live in right there.
25, 42.
A lot of the businesses in town closed down in the years since then. Started to kind of have the life drained out of it a little bit. Most of my family worked labor jobs. My dad's a factory worker, but his whole career, that was always what I thought I would do. I was home schooled my entire way through school. I never went to public school a day in my life. My mom was my teacher. I basically dropped out at 16. I started my first job the day after my 16th birthday because I wanted to make a living. I ended up in a manufacturing position slicing deli meat. Processing deli meat. The facility was in a man made cave underground here in Missouri. But it was a job. And a lot of people were losing their jobs and losing their homes and losing everything else. I felt lucky to have a job at all. I felt lucky to be working.
It was really hard work. I mean, he dropped like 30 some odd pounds in a month or two.
I was donating my plasma. That was the only way for a lot of years that I could buy groceries. The thing that was the most sobering was probably having my son and realizing that I had to have more of a structured plan in place. At some point I knew there had to be something I could learn to do to provide a better future. I have a cousin that comes from a similar background as I do, and he landed in a job as a developer for Salesforce. He said, well, you'd probably be okay to be an admin. The light bulb kind of came on and this was all of a sudden something I could learn to do without a whole lot of risk. There were these online videos that were hands on training. It started to slowly kind of take shape. Once the pieces all clicked, then the bulb was on nice and bright. I had some really great advice to get connected with the local user groups. So I put on the only suit that I own and I went to user group.
Zach is hard to miss. You're gonna not forget Zach coming into a room. What I noticed first was somebody, without even saying anything, said, I need a place, I need help, I need a resource.
Having that mentorship, it was very foreign but very extraordinary at the same time. About four months later, a lady from my user group said, hey, my admin just put in his two weeks notice. You're certified, right? And I'm like, yeah, I'm absolutely certified. And I had an interview. The biggest interview of my life. I was 30 years old and I'd never have done a real job interview. Yes, I was scared to death. I told my current boss, I looked him square in the face and I said, you will not interview anyone else for this position that is nearly as excited about this as I am.
He probably didn't know it at the time, but he was. He was an easy choice. The biggest impact is his passion for Salesforce and educating others. He's really built a name for himself.
An account page in Salesforce. It was remarkable. From the factory floor to dealing with some of the most advanced technology in the world. I made it. I did it.
You see, it doesn't just affect his work life, it affects his home life. You know, he works hard for us. I'm just really proud of him, you know, I always have been. Sorry.
My American dream is providing for my family and having enough time to spend with them. I found it. Blazing a trail means leaving a trail. A trail that can be followed. And now I need to turn around and build a highway behind me to pass it on, to pay it forward. When I see people in less than ideal situations, I want to tell people on the street the jobs are out there, the security for your family can be had. Trailhead is the front door of the new economy to change your life. It's all free, it's all online, it's all accessible. You can start learning today the things that will get you a job tomorrow. I'm living proof that there's a place for anyone in the new economy. You just have to reach for it. I'm Zach Otero and I'm a trailblazer.
