How Some Cuban Immigrants are Finding High-Paying Jobs in Miami

Cuban immigrants, here in Miami, are some of the hardest-working people in the world. Many have spent their lives struggling under the oppressive regime of Fidel Castro, and have taken great risks to escape. Unfortunately, when they arrive here in the United States, the struggle continues. Immigrants, especially those without college degrees, have a very hard finding decent, respectable, well-paying jobs in Miami.

Many immigrants, despite being smart, hard-working people with a lot of potentials, end up stuck in dead-end jobs, working in places like Best Buy and Publix, earning just enough to get by, in an endless cycle of poverty and struggle.

But a new trend has been developing over the past few years that is providing stable, high-paying jobs to hundreds of Cuban immigrants in Miami every year. By spending a few hours per week learning to code, many immigrants are developing highly marketable technical skills. These skills are so valuable that recent arrivals, speaking limited English and with very little formal education, have Miami companies lining up to offer them high-paying career opportunities.

JOBS IN MIAMI

There are three general categories of jobs in Miami: low-skilled labor jobs, jobs that require college degrees, and high-paying jobs that don’t require a degree.

Low-Skilled Labor Jobs

Low-skilled labor jobs tend to pay very little and require a lot of work. These are the grocery store clerks, the waiters and the waitresses, the janitors, and the fast-food workers. These jobs are essential for keeping our society functioning (well, at least until the robots take over), but they’re not great for the people who actually work in them. Workers in low-skilled jobs often make poverty-level wages, which keep them struggling to pay their bills, constantly working and never really getting ahead. This vicious cycle of poverty can last a lifetime. Many new immigrants — Cuban and otherwise — end up getting caught in this life-long trap.

Jobs That Require College and/or Post-Graduate Degrees

There are many jobs in Miami that require college (or even post-graduate) degrees. These are the university professors, the doctors, the financial analysts, the government bureaucrats, and the business executives. These jobs tend to require huge amounts of time and money to get Bachelors, Masters, or Doctoral degrees. Unfortunately, this is time and money that many new immigrants simply do not have. This creates an unfair system, where children from wealthy families are able to get ahead, and children from poor families (or new immigrants who come here with nothing but the clothes on their backs) get left behind.

High-Paying Jobs that Don’t Require a Degree

For most high-paying jobs that don’t require a degree, there is a lot of competition (just ask any aspiring actor, singer, or pro sports player). Everyone wants these jobs, but it requires a lot of skill (and a lot of luck) to actually get them. These jobs can be even harder to get than jobs that require college degrees.

There is, however, one very notable exception to this general rule.

Coding jobs — Web & Mobile Development jobs in particular — pay very well, don’t require a degree, and are easy to get (low competition). There are two main reasons for this:

1. Most people think that learning to code is hard (but it’s not)
2. There is a huge demand for coders right now, and not enough supply

For many Cuban immigrants without college degrees, learning to code is the key to ending the cycle of poverty and finding high-paying jobs in Miami.

LEARNING TO CODE IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK

The biggest myth about coding is that it’s hard to learn.

Many new immigrants assume that because they don’t have college degrees, or because they weren’t very good at math in High School, they just aren’t cut out to be coders. Selling things, making food, cleaning houses, customer service… these are things that are easy to understand at first glance. But JavaScript?

for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
console.log(i);
}

Just one look at this simple piece of code can make a person’s eyes glaze over. Thoughts like “What does that even mean? I don’t understand this at all. I’m not cut out for this,” are likely to arise. It looks foreign and confusing, and completely alien to the untrained eye — which is exactly why the people who choose to learn it are at such a big advantage. And the most shocking part, as it turns out for those brave enough to try to learn to code, is that basic JavaScript is actually really easy to learn and understand. All you need is a good teacher to break it down for you, and a few minutes to play with the code on your computer to see how it works.

FVI: CAREERS IN UNDER A YEAR

FVI School of Nursing and Technology was set up right here in the middle of Miami (in the Mall of the Americas, on Flagler and NW 79th) for a reason. We understand the struggle that immigrants go through in this country, and we are here to help.

For that reason, we’ve set up our program to cater specifically to people who are struggling financially, don’t have much formal education, and just need help getting into a stable, successful career. Our classes start in the evenings, so that people can learn in their free time, while still being able to earn money at their day jobs. We have an entire department in our office dedicated to financial aid, so that students don’t have to worry about where they’re going to get the money to attend our programs. We even have dedicated staff working full time to find jobs & internship positions for our students and graduates.

Many Cuban immigrants are finding high-paying jobs in Miami by learning to code. Contact us to find out how you can too: 1 (786) 574-3350