Dive into our new Tech Employer Series to hear from those who hire Alchemy graduates and actively work alongside them as team members!

PayClearly is a payments automation hub with an expansive client base nationwide and global financial partners. They provide clients and partners with a streamlined payment solution that reduces costs and provides business process improvements. Through the efforts of their dedicated sales, development, and support teams in offices across the United States and a support network of issuing and acquiring partners operating in over 200 countries, PayClearly is leading the way in payment issuing, card processing and other payment solutions that help companies grow across the globe.

Nedim Filipovic is a Senior Software Engineer at PayClearly. Here, Nedim shares their experience hiring Alchemy grads...

Why are Alchemy graduates an attractive hire? 

Alchemy graduates have proven to be fast-learning employees. The grads that we employ are always ready to use their Alchemy experiences to tackle new problems. Alchemy grads think critically about road-blocks, and often know how to teach themselves new tools, or skills in order to get the job done. That’s pretty rare to find in today’s market. 

How are Alchemy graduates and non-traditional school graduates beneficial to your company's needs?

Alchemy grads, who are typically new to the tech industry, are exposed to relevant technical experience through school projects, group-work, and Alchemy's program curriculum. 

These aspects work wondrously together because; on one hand new grads have the knowledge and skills necessary to develop solutions and learn about more advanced topics, while on the other hand Alchemy grads lack some of the stubborn coding opinions that more senior hires can harbor. 

Over and over, Alchemy grads have proven to be open-minded and inquisitive. As an employer, it’s exciting to find eager hires who are willing to learn and adapt to the new company's practices, but also challenge the status-quo and provide feedback and growth. 

Describe the software developer talent pool where you are in Portland and how schools like Alchemy help fill employment gaps.

The tech talent pool in Portland can be pretty competitive, especially at the senior level. There are times, however, when we don't need to hire senior employees. Instead, we might be specifically looking for out-of-the-box thinking for a new role. Alchemy helps fill those roles. Alchemy provides hires who have the know-how to get the job done, and are energetic and excited about the work they do.

Portland's tech industry aims to create a diverse and inclusive environment. Do you think Alchemy helps facilitate that goal?

I think that the existence of schools like Alchemy definitely help facilitate making the tech industry more diverse and inclusive. The fact that someone can get the technical know-how to work for a tech company in a matter of months for the fraction of the cost of a college degree is incredible. As a code school, Alchemy fills the gap for a lot of individuals.