We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Isshai Kamara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Isshai below.

Hi Isshai, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I am the founder of I.T. Industry Tools, a Tech Career Coaching business that teaches both technical and non-technical people, how to transition into careers in Information Technology within the Business & Technology Management sector.

I began studying Computer Science back in university in 2008, and I realized very early on that the Industry that I am in, did not have much representation by people that looked like me. I was often the only woman in my class, and I would always wonder why other women were not studying this discipline. I knew very early on, that this career paid well, and that I would not worry much about my finances in the future. Many women that I asked in school mentioned that they perceived Computer Science to be difficult, and were afraid of the challenging courses. Truth is, I was terrified of all of the advanced mathematics courses, but I was determined to make it and got tutored. I even developed programming scripts that helped with finishing my math homework quickly. In my last year of college, I worked at my University as an IT Specialist in my Career Services department, and I inadvertently learned how to write resumes while my director and co-workers were on leave.

I began crafting resumes for my fellow colleagues and was praised by my coworkers for how well the resumes were written. Shortly after, I found myself being sought out to help craft IT resumes for my friends. They often times landed very good paying roles. This is a skill set that has come in handy and has been pivotal in being able to help my clients from all sorts of backgrounds.

Shortly after finishing my degree, it became more apparent that there weren’t many women or African – American women in this space. Not to mention young women in these spaces either. Within a few short years into my career, I realized that employers brought me into Senior level roles, and I truly never had a junior role. By age 27, I was a Technical Program Manager, supporting a highly visible US Government project, and I found myself advising and supporting higher-ups much older than me. on that particular project, I was recognized as a Leader, and I was the only WOC and the youngest person on the board.

Within a period of 9 years in my career, I experienced some racism and heard many hurtful words as to why I didn’t belong in this industry. I wondered if I studied the wrong subject and if I needed to transition into a career that was more accepting of me. The words hurt, and after they stung, I used them as ammo to become the best at what I did. My hope was to find a space where I can just breathe, and do my job without the angst that comes with being in a male-dominated industry.
I often desired to see a work environment that was diverse. Having a diverse team and company culture is really beneficial to the success of projects and companies because it allows for creativity and innovation to be established.

While I was in my Leadership role, civil unrest began sweeping the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s death. It presented the opportunity for me to speak up about the lack of diversity, racism, and micro-aggressions that I had experienced in the workplace. I had a candid discussion with my Lead, and it was beautiful to be able to express myself, and he listened. We began staffing our upcoming project, and I asked to be a part of the process to begin interviewing candidates. Because at that time, I was one of 2 African-Americans staffed on our project of over 50 people. I wanted everyone to have a fair shot, and I sat in these rooms to ensure that we were being fair in our hiring practices. Shortly after, our project became more inclusive and racially diverse.

During the pandemic, I was living in NYC at the time, and boy was that a scary time and place to be. I had to take my mind off of what was happening, and I funneled those thoughts to share information on a professional project certification, that I have called the PMP. I created a free class to share information, with the intention of using this class to gain credit to keep my certification active. It, in turn, helped many people to decide on a career in project management. Fast forward to 2021, I moved to Atlanta, and I continued working as a Scrum Master at a Fortune 100 company. I wanted to help my recruiter place people into roles similar to mine. So I began posting on my Instagram about it, and my story went VIRAL. Many people found me and wrote me, and began asking about how they can work in this role, and often confused it with Cyber Security.

I created a free class and had about 40 people show up to learn more about this management-related role. I placed this free class on an online learning platform, and it took off! I have had over 1,000 people from all over the world watch it, and many did become Scrum Masters. It was also the people who watched the initial training, that encouraged me to create a full training on how to become one, and how to successfully transition.

I relied on my Project Management skills to help plan this out, because I had no clue what I was doing. I just knew that I was knowledgeable, a great interviewer, and could write great resumes. So I began the training, and I came across a mentor that helped me to shape my communication and offer. I quickly had a class of about 20 people, all over the United States from Hawaii to Washington, DC learning all about this role! I have taught many diverse people in my class of all ethnic backgrounds and creeds. Many of the people who enrolled, looked like me. Many were young, African – Americans, and women. Often times within our consultation call, they would tell me that they did not know that it was possible for them to be in the I.T. Field, because of those very factors. They doubted themselves because some didn’t have degrees, or didn’t know anything about the field. In those times, I was there to debunk the myths and let them know that it was possible. My students saw me as a beacon of hope, and I was grateful to help them change their circumstances.

Many of my students on average, prior to enrolling in my course made about $40,000. Some of their previous career paths include Teachers, chemists, Loctician, Doctoral Students, Entrepreneurs, Tech professionals, and Make-Up Artists. Shortly after taking the training, they were able to see offers ranging from $110,000 – $160,000. While on their jobs, they were promoted quickly as the lead Scrum Masters and also high Progam Management roles. My students go into these organizations after completing an 8-week training and train them on how to properly implement Agile. I started this business in September of 2021, and I truly enjoy seeing and hearing how this work and their increased salaries have improved their quality of life. It has been a blessing and empowering to see that I have been able to help create a more diverse workplace with strong professionals that are doing great things within the thin tech field. To date, I have helped my students land over $6.3 MM in salaries and counting. I am hoping to connect with more companies to be able to funnel strong candidates into the market. I will be producing new courses that will help my students land high 5 and six-figure salaries.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Isshai Kamara. I am from Washington, DC. I was born to immigrant parients from Sierra Leone, West Africa. I was reaised by a single mother that instilled the value of educatoin. I grew up in a crime-ridden DC Project. I became the first in my family to earn a Masters’s Degree (MSIT).

I am based in Atlanta, GA and I have an online course that helps people break into tech and secure a 6 figure role in as little as 90 days. It is an 8-week training that equips students with everything that they need to understand technical jargon and how to successfully do their work.

I help change the financial legacy of the clients that I work with, by teaching them a 6 figure skillset and the mindset needed to attain it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I don’t have a large following on social media, however, much of my content across platforms has gone viral. This has helped convert into sales. I would say it is important to have content that is authentic to your brand. The conversion is much higher than having a page that has a ton of followers.

Outsource social media to the pros. and try to build your following by paid ads as well.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I began building my reputation by freely sharing my knowledge. I also to have authentic testimonials associated with my brand. I often times take screenshots of client testimonials or have videos of them expressing their satisfaction. This has helped to make my program more reputable because they get to directly sense whether or not they deem it is authentic. I get many compliments on the success of the program because of the testimonials.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.itindustrytools.com
• Instagram: @itindustrytools
• Facebook: @itindustrytools
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isshai-kamara/
• Twitter: @itindustrytools
• Youtube: @itindustrytools
• Other: www.isshai.com

Image Credits
Mecca Clarke Photography