As soon as Craig Burnley saw a notification for a job training program in the Lyft app, he was sold. Burnley had been driving with Lyft as his primary source of income for about a year, after quitting his nine-to-five job for more flexibility. Recently, he had begun considering another career pivot, taking an online course on analytics to learn more about how data can help inform better business decisions. So when he saw that Lyft was promoting a program that offered a Google Data Analytics Certificate, it felt like opportunity knocking.
The biggest draw? The program offered more than just an online course—it provided career coaching and professional skills development, including résumé building, networking, portfolio development, and job placement support. “I thought, ‘This isn’t even a coincidence,’ ” he says. “ ‘It’s fate.’ ” He filled out his application the very same day.
The training program is the result of a new partnership between Lyft and Merit America, a national nonprofit focused on helping create pathways to enter the tech industry. For many working Americans, the barriers to transitioning to tech jobs are too high: They lack the required skill set and connections, college is too expensive, and boot camps and online programs don’t always provide the flexibility or support to kick-start a new career. Merit America’s goal is to bridge that gap by providing hardworking talent with the know-how, support, and connections to get in the door.
The program appealed to Burnley, whose own career hadn’t been a straight line. After graduating high school in 1991, he enrolled at the Pennsylvania State University as an engineering major, but it was challenging socially and academically. He left school after a year and made what he refers to as “the first big turn” in his career path, enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. “I didn’t know half of what I was capable of physically, emotionally, or mentally. I learned a lot about myself.”
After four years stationed in Hawaii, he took advantage of the GI Bill, earning an associate’s degree in engineering drafting technology from Honolulu Community College. For the next couple of decades, he worked as a drafting technician, designing HVAC and plumbing systems and telecommunications infrastructure. In 2006, he earned a bachelor’s in business management from the University of Phoenix while working.
Fast-forward 15 years, and Burnley was starting to feel like he had maxed out his earning potential at his job and was ready for a new challenge. At the same time, his now-fiancée had been driving with Lyft since 2017, and he was a little jealous of her work schedule. “She got to just up and travel when she wanted to, or say, ‘I’ve had enough for today’ and get off and go home. And I was like, ‘I want some of that life.’ ”
He decided to take the leap himself and started driving with Lyft full time in 2023. The lack of daily structure was an adjustment, but he enjoyed driving and meeting new people and being in control of how much he earned. “I was also providing a service for people who really need it, and it was rewarding in that way.”
Still, when he saw the information about Merit America pop up, he was ready for more. When he was accepted in June, he jumped right in, balancing driving with Lyft with his learning modules, videos, reading assignments, and quizzes — which took anywhere from two to six hours a day. While the workload was no joke, he found the courses well-paced, challenging, and fulfilling. “Just being able to say, ‘Based on this information, we’re able to make clear decisions that will benefit the corporation’ is really pretty cool,” he says.
Throughout the program, he posted about his milestones on LinkedIn, which kicked off a conversation with a former colleague at an engineering firm where he used to work. Eighteen weeks later, when he finished the program and earned a Google Data Analytics Certificate, those conversations led to a job offer from that firm with different responsibilities and higher pay than before. The experience helped him realize his potential. “I’m capable of so much,” he says. “It gives me a lot of confidence that I can move up the ranks — at my current company or in any organization.”
Burnley isn’t Merit America’s only success story. Others who worked at Amazon went back to better positions and raises, while one classmate who was selling insurance landed a great job at a tech company, he says. A recent study from the University of Virginia found that 80% of Merit America participants successfully complete the program, with alumni seeing an average annual wage increase of $24,000 three or more months after program completion.
To Burnley, programs like this one are crucial — not only because the traditional college-to-career path isn’t for everyone but also because technologies, systems, and business practices change over time. The methods he learned getting his BA in 2006 had changed by the time he earned his certificate in 2024.
“There’s a cultural expectation that after a certain age, you should know where you are,” he says. “But it doesn’t always work that way. It’s important we stay flexible and consider ourselves lifelong learners.”
Despite the increased earnings and the new nine-to-five job, Burnley hasn’t stopped driving with Lyft. “I have an entrepreneurial spirit,” he says. “Why would I watch TV or laze around on the couch when I could be making money?”
