If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It
A Story of Kenrick Tandrian, Bangkit 2022 Graduate from Information Systems, Universitas Pelita Harapan
What ignites a passion? How do we nurture it? Kenrick Tandrian (22), who has an undeniable fascination with tech, seemed to have the answer.“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” — Carl Sagan
When tech holds a real grip on Ken’s imagination–that’s what he’s called, the eldest of three starts to devour anything tech-related. Driven by his love for tech, Kenrick decided to go to Universitas Pelita Harapan to major in Information Systems. Then, his thirst for knowledge led him to off-campus courses like Dicoding.
To nurture his interest in tech, Kenrick decided to join Bangkit 2022. After graduating from Bangkit and earning a Bachelor of Information Technology, he headed on to Google and became a Noogler.
Kenrick revealed that his spirit of continuous learning played a significant role in kickstarting his career. How was Kenrick’s journey? Let's dive in!
Finding Web Design Interesting
Born and raised in Medan, Kenrick was raised by a technician father and a housewife mother. His parents hoped nothing but to see their eldest do well in his life. Nevertheless, Kenrick wished he could be his family’s pride by achieving many in the field he was passionate about: technology.
Kenrick’s fascination with tech has developed since high school, particularly in computers and design. He even made time to study layout design and graphic design, which he later applied to design presentations and posters. Moving on to college, he finally became interested in creating good web design. From there, his interest in web development bloomed.
“I've been studying web frameworks like React.js since college, then took part in boot camps and free learning programs at Dicoding. Even though I now have my own website for my portfolio, I’m still exploring and curious about creating my own domain.”
Kenrick’s Life at Bangkit: Challenging Yet Fun
As time went by, Bangkit came into Kenrick’s life with Cloud Computing as one of the learning paths. He was interested in participating because he believed knowledge gained in Bangkit could complement his self-taught learning process.
Moreover, Kenrick discovered similarities between what he had learned and Bangkit's material. He wanted to know how to create a web server on the cloud. In fact, Ken was already familiar with Bangkit since 2021 but had not been able to register because he hadn’t been in the fifth semester yet.
“I’ve known Bangkit for a long time from the Dicoding newsletter. Then, in 2022, there was campus counseling regarding Bangkit. The timing was perfect because, at the peak of my interest, Bangkit opened registration. Without thinking twice, I immediately signed up.”
Instead, Kenrick equipped himself with comprehensive web and cloud basics learning. He also participated in JuaraGCP from Google, a program for learning the cloud. At that time, Kenrick was given a certain amount of credit to complete several quests or challenges on Google Cloud. That’s where he learned a lot about Cloud Computing.
Studying in Bangkit was not easy because there was a lot of study material. Kenrick admitted that he felt like being “chased” by modules, so to solve this problem, he had to implement his time management skills.
Despite the challenges, Kenrick still had an unforgettable moment in Bangkit. He highlighted his experience when he worked on the capstone project. During this final project, there was a moment where each participant had to find a team.
At that time, the Discord server was very busy; some cohorts even offered themselves. Everyone seemed very excited about starting the project, which fueled Kenrick’s enthusiasm.
After more than 900 hours of studying in Bangkit, Kenrick graduated and finished college. The professional world was something Kenrick was already familiar with because he had been a freelance tutor since he was in college. However, Kenrick still aspired to launch a full-time job once the Bangkit’s and bachelor’s certificates were in his hands.
“During the capstone, some cohorts offered their portfolio and CV to me. There were also open vacancies to join the team. Honestly, I had never participated in a program where the learning process was complicated yet fun like Bangkit.”
A Journey of Becoming a Noogler
After more than 900 hours of studying in Bangkit, Kenrick graduated and finished college. The professional world was something Kenrick was already familiar with because he had been a freelance tutor since he was in college. However, Kenrick still aspired to launch a full-time job once the Bangkit’s and bachelor’s certificates were in his hands.
Kenrick started his job search on many platforms. Then, he found a vacancy at Google via Google Careers. He was excited to apply after receiving an “Early Career Position” offer at Google Indonesia and Singapore. Moreover, he also got information about a Google Cloud vacancy at the Grow with Google Career Fair.
“Regarding the position at Google, I received an email from Bangkit telling me that this position was open for those who had graduated and had 0-1 year of work experience. I applied both via Google Careers and Dicoding Jobs.”
“Honestly, I was surprised because I thought the interviews would be on different days, but they were all on the same day. Nevertheless, I am grateful that I could get through it.”One month after the recruitment process, Kenrick received good news. He was accepted and landed his full-time career at Google Cloud. During the first three months, Kenrick’s daily life at Google revolved around training such as video learning, hands-on lab exercises, and meetings with his managers.
Remarkably, Kenrick’s daily life at Google is not the same every day. Some days are full of studying; sometimes, Kenrick only has to work in the lab. Occasionally, he takes Instructor-Led Training (ILT) classes. The key to managing everything is time management, one of the soft skills Kenrick learned in Bangkit.
“If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It!”
Successfully landing a job in a giant tech company didn’t prevent Kenrick from questioning himself. He admitted that as his journey in Bangkit was about to begin, he once doubted himself and wondered, “Can I be Indonesia’s reliable digital talent? Am I qualified to pursue a career in the tech industry?”
However, now, Kenrick has discovered that to kickstart a career at a large tech company, studying experience at college alone was not enough. Therefore, he decided to participate in the national-level career readiness program, Bangkit, initiated by Google and supported by multinational companies such as GoTo, Tokopedia, and Traveloka.
“I joined Bangkit to build a benchmark between me and digital talents throughout Indonesia. Unlike before, now we can compete with anyone, no matter where we come from, thanks to Bangkit.”
To end this interview, Kenrick revealed that Bangkit could take anyone to a place they had never imagined before. Previously, Kenrick would never have a single thought about working at Google. However, now, he has become a Googler!
“Again, Bangkit could bring us to a place we never dared to dream of. So if you can dream it, then you can do it!”More stories about Bangkit Alum and Cohort:
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