When Hard Work Isn’t Enough

Daniela did what no generation of her family had done before: she went straight from high school to university, graduating with a degree in graphic design in 2022. Then she entered the workforce, but found it difficult to fully launch financially.

She worked in a few different companies over the first few years after graduating, but the pay was consistently low. Her earnings couldn’t stretch to cover the contributions she needed to make to her family at home, or to cover her own expenses, let alone saving toward a future.  “The salary I had just didn’t stretch — I had to prioritize what to spend each paycheck on.”

The best way she saw to improve her earning potential in that field was to specialize in UX/UI, and those courses were financially out of reach. Stuck in a field she couldn’t afford to grow in, Daniela began to lose confidence in where she was headed. “I felt I was never going to be able to move forward — professionally or personally,” she recalls. So she finally decided to shift course — she just didn’t yet know what the new direction would be.

Building with a Fresh Start 

Through a friend, Daniela found Generation Chile’s Junior Digital Marketing program. She chose marketing strategically: it would build on her design training rather than pivot fully away from it. And the course was free! Within weeks of leaving her last design job, she enrolled. 

The program ran on a full workday schedule, combining marketing theory with hands-on practice — plus resume building, LinkedIn coaching, and work readiness curriculum. But what stayed with her most was the connection and community she found. “What I liked most was the human quality,” she says. “The tutors supported us educationally and personally. We were able to keep going because we felt that support.”

Her strategy worked: so much of the marketing skills she learned connected back to design that the material came quickly — a combination she says makes her a stronger contributor at work to this day

Being Recognized

One week before the course ended, one of Daniela’s tutors personally recommended her to an employer — a marketing agency where she was hired as an SEO Specialist.

More than a year later, she’s still there, working a hybrid schedule and earning over 50% more than she did in design — enough to contribute at home and save toward the goals that once felt out of reach: owning a home, and traveling to see the world. “Now I feel much calmer — more positive about my future,” she says.

The growth hasn’t stopped. A self-described introvert, Daniela recently led a webinar for around 200 people at work — the kind of thing she could not have imagined doing before the program. 

“Generation helped me find better job opportunities, but it also helped me grow as a person. I attribute a lot to Generation.”