International Women’s Day

What inspired you to make the switch from finance to tech? I was feeling really stuck in my finance career. I kept gaining licenses to move up in position and it was just very tiring, with little payoff. A friend of mine had left our department and moved into product where she was managing her own engineering team. She had an opening for an entry level QA tester and pushed me to interview for the job. Having zero tech experience, I was hesitant, but having years of domain knowledge with the business made me want to try. I surprisingly got the job and never looked back. What was the biggest challenge you faced when making the transition? There were a lot of challenges making a switch like that, especially in my 30’s. There were a lot of feelings of self doubt, fear of failing and overall feeling behind everyone else, but I took whatever steps I could manage to learn all I could. I signed myself up to a coding bootcamp so I could gain the basics of understanding and really be able to excel at the new role, not just be mediocre. It was difficult working full time and going to class after hours and on weekends, but it was also super fun to be learning all these new things. What advice would you give to other women considering a similar transition? Just try it and give it all you’ve got. You can come up with a million excuses for why it doesn’t make sense. Being a very logical person, this was pretty scary and uncomfortable for me. My experience did show me in the end that you really can do whatever you put your mind to. Another thing to tell yourself would be to keep an open mind to learning…and failing. I didn’t get my current tech job by having years of hands-on work experience or having a college degree – I got it by showing I was willing and eager to learn new things and didn’t give up. What has been the most rewarding experience during your time in tech? Being able to become a mentor for other women in tech has been such a cool thing. I don’t have the typical tech background or story, so being open to share my struggles of insecurity in a male dominated world has helped others find their confidence, too. What do you think the tech industry can do to improve opportunities for women? I’m seeing it happen around me, not just at my own job, but more and more women are moving into leadership roles across the board. There are a lot of tech companies claiming they want gender equality in their companies, but it’s another thing to actually model your leadership team after it by promoting women to the top positions. Less talk, more action. What do you think are the biggest obstacles for women in tech? I can only speak from my own experience, but I do think I speak for a lot of people when I say we can have a lot of roles to fill in life. Mother, wife, friend, employee, manager…by nature we are drawn to taking care of people. And if you’re like me – I share this desire with also wanting to be self-sufficient in my own career. Finding fairness, equality and respect in the workplace can be a hurdle for mothers like me. We shouldn’t have to fear being passed up for a promotion because we can’t work long hours or need a more flexible schedule or have to take maternity leave. I’m hoping workplaces continue to improve on the types of benefits they can offer to families. Why should women say goodbye to their careers just to be a mother? We need better support systems overall, but especially in a historically male-dominating tech industry. What advice would you give to young women interested in pursuing a career in tech? Learn everything you can now and stay curious. The industry is ever changing and at a quick pace. There are new technologies out every year, so the earlier you can start to build your knowledge, the better. Sign up to a class, find a coding bootcamp, read about machine learning or just find a free online self-taught course on coding. You don’t have to wait until you’ve graduated, or found that internship or even entry-level job to start prepping yourself for a future in tech.