Women returners in tech

[MotherOffCod]

Is anyone else noticing a trend for women returning to work after child-rearing years getting into deep geek tech?

I’m my area of the UK it’s a big thing, and seems to be escalating.

Bloody brilliant area to get skilled up in once your kids are older and you’re ready to dig in again.

Anyone else in this sphere? My feeling is that it’s a major opportunity for smart women who’ve been out or the workplace for a while, but have time and opportunity to re-train in exciting new fields with high demand and low supply.

Logical thinking, creativity, and problem solving are way more important than qualifications of any sort in my view and experience.

And I’m totally in the no code world. There’s a huge growth of opportunity in no code, and it’s a lot easier to move into and learn o the of compared with actual coding.

OK so how number-oriented would you have to be to learn any of the computer coding languages from scratch and then hire yourself out professionally? Would it realistically take A-level or degree level maths to be able to learn to the level that you could freelance at a decent rate?

There's lots of different types of coding, as PP have said. Some of it- web design, user interfaces etc isn't really about numbers at all.

A knitting pattern is very much analogous to some sorts of computer code.

What I do needs scary maths at times, some of it I have to hold up my hands and say is beyond me (I did double maths A levels, and then more harder maths during my chemistry degree). But that's a very small subsection of what I do as a scientific developer. So it's an outlier example, not the norm.

I did double maths at A-level, then an arts degree, then a masters in IT (so quite generic, not hard techie). I do think it's useful to understand algebra and algebraic notation, but I think that's all covered by GCSE, my kid is already starting the basics at primary.

You would have to be very confident and a really quick learner to go straight from a course or self-learning into a decently paid position though. Expect a year or two as a trainee. Experience is still very valued so a course with a work placement would be best.

Good point about algebra and formulae. Those definitely help, but aren’t essential.

I’m a maths graduate too, but with lots of music and art thrown in.

I did less than a year on training rates, and even those were way better than most hourly rates where I live

Thank you all for your input! This is really inspiring, both on the possibilities for remote working and pay relative to local pay. My first career choices aren’t really relevant to the job market any more.

Could you say any more about ‘no code’ roles please and how would someone aim for that? I will start to try learning a bit of code just to understand the very very basics but it’s interesting to read that there are some specific job titles that I could research that don’t involve learning to code very competently? I have no idea whether I would take to coding having not done it previously, so it is reassuring that there are jobs that might touch on skills more in my comfort zone.

A women in tech website I just googled gives this job title list, does this cover the basics do you think or are there other areas/roles available to look into?

Analysts/Analytics
IT Security
Project Management
Developers
IT Support / Helpdesk
Web Design and UX
Database Admin
Testing
Software Sales

Do web design and UX (user experience) always have to go together?
Are there any other kinds of UX roles that wouldn’t require web design knowledge?

Software testing skills can vary depending on the business sector or product.
A basic understanding of programming languages helps. You may need basic SQL/database knowledge to check backend systems. Automated testing is a growing field and certain products will be tested using specific tools and applications. Knowledge of scripting languages can help you write up test frameworks.

Sign up to several recruitment sites and do a broad search for the software roles listed above. Read what recruiters and employers are looking for in various job descriptions as it will give you a general idea of the level of technical vs non-technical skills required for such roles, what kind of further accreditation or qualifications are needed etc. It doesn't necessarily mean you won't find a job if you don't tick every box on an employer's wishlist, but it will give you a sense of what is involved in such types of roles.

digital Women (link higher up somewhere) is a great place to start for learning what’s out there in digital world for women returners, especially for no code stuff.

I don’t work for them or anything, but it’s their thing, and they’re really expert in it.

Would love to see them host a Q&A here to answer all the questions and give advice.

Not to pour cold water on this, but I don't entirely agree (at least as far as development is concerned) that training and education isn't required.

The best developers are creative, do have organised thinking and are good at problem solving, but also have a sound grounding in the theories behind it, generally from a relevant degree.

It's like the difference between a self-taught chef, and someone who's been through culinary college - they both might be able to produce delicious food, but one definitely has an advantage when it comes to the right way to butcher a chicken or in general cheffing knowledge.

For BAs I think it's more important to be technically literate, but understand how the business actually works, and for PMs just to be a forcefully organised person. Good testers appreciate their job for what it is (rather than thinking it's a stepping stone to being a developer), and are methodical and thorough, and also know the business (I'd say that BA would probably be a better side step for testers actually)

Thank you so much for these pointers everyone. I’m very grateful.

Another area that has boomed during the last year is learning technology. It's always been relatively less male dominated as it tends to be full of ex teachers.

interesting thread, thank you.

Can I ask about Video Editing? what jobs? what is needed, my DS was doing you tube Video Editing for awhile for a small company , and has the software.

other than that I'm clueless as to where I could take a skill like that, if self taught and using software that DS has. would it be enough? Its something I like the look of, and DS could give me basic understanding to start with.

Video editing is definitely in demand.

I’ve had to train someone myself, and I’m self taught, so not ideal.

Editing video for social for small businesses would be good to get into as there just so much of it that needs doing!

Totally agree on the learning tech, slug. Online learning has exploded due to covid and a lot of it won’t go back to in person.

Big demand for people who can set up the LMS tech.

Hi all, sorry, I have a question. I work in regulation/law/finance. Data science is becoming big as it is in all sectors, and I’m thinking of moving into it in my current job.

I therefore applied for a data science MSc open to those new to IT. I flunked it, but have been offered an MSc in IT instead. I see it only has one data science module. I think it’s more for future software engineers?

Ignoring for now my potential inability to do the course, is there any point in me doing an IT course? Is there a future in IT? It’s at Birkbeck. I obviously don’t want to waste time and money on a course that won’t lead anywhere.

Thanks in advance. I have been super impressed by your stories!

I’m guessing it’s undersubscribed, and that’s why they offered it to someone as useless as me?

Or is there another one year type course I should do instead?

Sorry for all the questions.

It depends partly on what the syllabus is. I figured any increased IT knowledge would be an advantage, whether I ended up using it directly or not.

(I have NC'ed for privacy)
I'm a software product manager and I think and hope more women will join the profession. It's a very varied and interesting role where you have to work out 'what' the software should do rather than 'how' it should be coded. I listen to a range of voices internal and external to my company and prioritise what I should think be amended or introduced as new features. It involves a lot of empathic and listening skills, but also problem solving, innovation, creativity, persuasive and negotiation skills. I used to do a tiny bit of web coding 20 years ago but that's as far as my coding skills goes. I have a good sense of what kind of changes take the most time for developers to make but don't try and second-guess them at how they approach their jobs addressing the 'how' of what I'd like to be changed. Another big area that is growing is UX - anyone who's very analytical and details focussed as well as being empathic could have a good go at UX. So many new places are hiring UX designers now that it's a really good area to specialise in. If you've been involved in a project changing something, a service or product to make it easier to use, then you've started what it means to be a UX designer and you can just build from those skills. @BasementSlacks there are UX designers for all sorts of things now, including services, shops, apps, games, etc. It's definitely not just 'websites'.

@raskolnikovsgarret I think you should be searching for conversion course masters like this one:
online.liverpool.ac.uk/msc-data-science-and-ai-prospectus/

These are aimed at people from different backgrounds and pitched at a less technical level.

(Not an endorsement, just an example.)

Thanks, very helpful.

I’ve just checked, and that Liverpool MSc requires a technical first degree. I’ve got a useless law degree. Makes it hard to find a suitable conversion course. Understandable, I suppose; no point doing a course I won’t have the skills for. But I don’t know whether pure IT will be any use.

This is really interesting.

I’ve just finished a Microbiology degree and found that the aspect I enjoyed most was the R stuff that we did and have been considering a Masters or other course in Data Science/Bioinformatics/similar because I rather enjoyed the coding side.

I’ve been mucking around on some free coding apps doing Python.

WFH would be amazing due to my ADHD/ASD and being a single parent.

Just placemarking this very interesting thread!