How I Got Here: Tarelle Irwin went from Pepsi sales rep to tech apprenticeship booster

For years, as a sales rep and commercial driver for Pepsi, he’d drive around the city and deliver products to stores and gas stations. That is, until a neck injury changed the 2022 RealLIST Connectors honoree’s desire for a career change into a necessity, as he could no longer haul cases of Mountain Dew on and off of his truck.

Prior to 2021, Irwin was unsure of where he’d find a career that would accommodate his injury while offering some form of longevity, he told Technical.ly. A friend sent him a link of a Pittsburgh Tech Council video advertising an info session taking place in the Mon Valley.

The focus of the event: Apprenti PGH, a tech apprenticeship program run by the business development org’s Fortyx80 nonprofit arm.

“They were coming to my hometown to talk about a program that was newly started, and it was a pathway to get people into tech,” Irwin said, who had studied psychology and business at Youngstown State University. “I had the opportunity to attend that info session, and they talked about all of the great things that Apprenti would offer, like free tech training, and you would get paid while you’re doing the training, and then you will transition into these high-paying jobs.”

Irwin thought the program sounded great, but told the powers that be at the time that it was unfortunate that so few Mon Valley residents seemed to know about it. He asked how he could help the Tech Council spread the word about the program. So, instead of becoming an apprentice himself, Irwin was offered the opportunity to work for the program.

Alison Falk, Tarelle Irwin and Kirk Holbrook speak during an apprenticeship panel. (Photo by Atiya Irvin-Mitchell)

Two years later, Irwin spends a lot of his time doing the outreach he saw was needed. That can include contacting employees and asking if they’d be interested in hosting Apprenti apprentices in their workplace, getting community members interested in joining the program, and in some cases supporting them once they’ve already completed it.

“I help them to get interviews with these companies and after they get their interviews,” Irwin said. “I help get grants and things of that nature to be able to pay to go through the tech training for 14 to 15 weeks to get the certification to do these jobs. And during the entire process, I’m connecting with the training provider, the employer, and the apprentice to see if they need any type of help.”

His favorite part of the job, he said, is getting to affect change in people’s lives. It’s not lost on Irwin that diversity in tech can be scarce, and he recalled that despite his interest in the tech prior to his injury, he was unsure of how to break into the field. He’s glad that he can play a part in boosting the number of women and tech workers of color in the field.

“To be able to help change the needle and give opportunities to people who didn’t even know these opportunities existed, or just didn’t have the means to get into these opportunities, is really what would make me happy,” Irwin said. “To see them being able to get on that plateau and shine feels great because sometimes people will need just need a chance.”

Looking forward, Irwin said he advises anyone considering a big career change like the one he underwent to remember that there’s not necessarily a specific kind of person who can thrive in tech, and to keep in mind that any skills that you lack as a candidate can always be learned.

“Don’t get discouraged just because you don’t have the skill set or you don’t have the degree or you don’t have the training necessary to go where you’re trying to go. Life is a serious teacher,” Irwin said. “There are plenty of skills that translate over into whatever you’re doing.”

This is How I Got Here, a series where we chart the career journeys of technologists. Want to tell your story? Get in touch.